Viz.

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
Information red.svg
Scan the QR code to donate via UPI
Dear reader, We need your support to keep the flame of knowledge burning bright! Our hosting server bill is due on June 1st, and without your help, Bharatpedia faces the risk of shutdown. We've come a long way together in exploring and celebrating our rich heritage. Now, let's unite to ensure Bharatpedia continues to be a beacon of knowledge for generations to come. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference. Together, let's preserve and share the essence of Bharat.

Thank you for being part of the Bharatpedia family!
Please scan the QR code on the right click here to donate.

0%

   

transparency: ₹0 raised out of ₹100,000 (0 supporter)



The abbreviation viz. (or viz without a full stop) is short for the Latin videlicet, which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase videre licet, meaning "it is permitted to see".[1][2][3] It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to wit", "which is", or "as follows". It is typically used to introduce examples or further details to illustrate a point. For example: "all types of data viz. text, audio, video, pictures, graphics, can be transmitted through networking".[4]

Etymology[edit]

Viz. is shorthand for the adverb videlicet. It uses Tironian notes, a system of Latin shorthand. It comprises the first two letters, "vi", followed by the last two, "et", using the z-shaped Tironian "et", historically written ⁊[clarification needed],[5][note 1] a common contraction for "et" in Latin shorthand in Ancient Rome and medieval Europe.

Usage[edit]

In contrast to i.e. and e.g., viz. is used to indicate a detailed description of something stated before, and when it precedes a list of group members, it implies (near) completeness.

Examples[edit]

  • This was the intended meaning of his speech, viz. that our attitude was in fact harmful, was not understood.
  • The later two problems, viz. his debt and his back pain, could not be so easily solved.
  • "My grandfather had four sons who grew up, viz.: Thomas, John, Benjamin and Josiah."[7]
  • The noble gases, viz. helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, show an unexpected behaviour when exposed to this new element.

Compared with scilicet[edit]

A similar expression is scilicet, from earlier scire licet, abbreviated as sc., which is Latin for "it is permitted to know." Sc. provides a parenthetic clarification, removes an ambiguity, or supplies a word omitted in preceding text, while viz. is usually used to elaborate or detail text which precedes it.

In legal usage, Scilicet appears abbreviated as ss. It can also appear as a section sign (§) in a caption, where it is used to provide a statement of venue, that is to say a location where an action is to take place.

Scilicet can be read as "namely," "to wit," or "that is to say," or pronounced /ˈsklɪkɛt/ in English-speaking countries, or also anglicized as /ˈsɪlɪsɛt/.[8]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. According to E. Cobham Brewer (1810–1897), Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the same abbreviation mark was used for "habet" and "omnibus".

References[edit]

  1. Oxford English Dictionary
  2. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (revised third edition, 1998), pp. 825, 828.
  3. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1917
  4. "'videlicet', Random House Dictionary". dictionary.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  5. Brewer, Ebenezer (1970). Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. New York: Harper & Row. p. 1132.
  6. 6.0 6.1 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1917.
  7. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin at Project Gutenberg.
  8. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1560.