ET CETERA, ETC., AND SO ON AND SO FORTH AND BLAH BLAH BLAH.

&c. is not an abomination (well, other than the fact that you could stop using what it stands for in the first place).

&c. is not an abomination? Well, yes it is, but not just for the reason you’re probably applying to it. Yes, it’s confusing ( ampersand-c? huh ?—it means “etc.”). And it’s plain of ugly.

But what it’s not is this: It is not a cute insertion of the ampersand (&) into the tried abbreviation etc. In a sense, etc. created ampersand.

The “and” symbol is not a fancifully written script version of the plus sign. It is technically a ligature—the combination of two letters or characters. The U.S. dollar sign is a ligature, as is an Old English vowel now retired: JE (ash—see the next entry for more info). The ampersand combines the letters E and T, spelling et, Latin meaning “and,” the et in et cetera.