# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Rules and Abbreviations

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RULES AND ABBREVIATIONS
I. Type.—Headings printed in bold Clarendon type (e.g. ALEPPO) represent article headings in the Encyclopædia, and the first reference under every such heading is to the article in question.
All references show (1) the volume in bold Clarendon figures; (2) the page in light face type; (3) the exact quarter of the page by means of the letters a, b, c, d, signifying respectively the upper and lower halves of the first and second columns, e.g. A (letter) 1-1a. In geographical references these letters are replaced by an indication of the map square in the usual form, e.g. “(B1).”
A rule or dash (—) denotes the repetition of the preceding heading, or of its first separate word. Hyphened words are treated as single words. Headings in italic type denote books, newspapers, or periodicals. Quotation marks are used for pictures, ships, statues, race horses and separate poems or musical compositions.
II. Alphabetization.—All titles, whether consisting of a single word or of more than one, and if of more, whether hyphened or not, are treated for the purpose of alphabetization as single complete headings. In the majority of cases the same rule applies to inverted headings. Surnames followed by Christian names and geographical headings like “Wycombe, High” are exceptions. An epithet or phrase in parentheses is not treated as part of the heading for alphabetical purposes except in a series of identical headings (see Preface, p. vii.).
Where the same name denotes human beings, places and objects, the order is (1) persons, (2) places, (3) things.
The prefixes “Mc” and “M‘” are alphabetized as “Mac”; “St” is treated as “Saint,” “S.S.” as “Saints.”
III. Geographical Headings.—The names of towns and villages are followed by the abbreviation for the country to which they belong. For this purpose English counties and the states of the United States rank as countries. All other topographical headings are described as “riv.,” “mt.,” &c. In cases like “Big Mountain,” “Big River,” denoting physical features the arrangement is
Big, mt. —, riv.
Such a heading as “Big Mountain, Utah” would therefore denote a town, not a mountain. In the names of American counties, e.g. Madison Co., the word Co. is treated as part of the heading.
IV. Abbreviations.—The following list includes general contractions adopted for the purpose of this Index. The contractions usual in special branches of knowledge are included in the Index itself and in the article Abbreviation (vol. i. page 37).
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
| Aby. | Abyssinia |
| Aeg. | Aegean Sea |
| Af. | Africa |
| Afg. | Afghanistan |
| Af.Rom | Roman Africa |
| agri. | agriculture |
| Ala. | Alabama |
| Alban. | Albania |
| Alg. | Algeria |
| Alsk. | Alaska |
| Als.-Lor. | Alsace-Lorraine |
| Alta. | Alberta |
| anat. | anatomy |
| And.Is. | Andaman Islands |
| Ang. | Angola |
| Antarc. | South Polar Regions |
| Arab. | Arabia |
| arch. | architecture |
| archae. | archaeology |
| archip. | archipelago |
| Arct. | North Polar Regions |
| Arg. | Argentina |
| Ariz. | Arizona |
| Ark. | Arkansas |
| Arm. | Armenia |
| Ash. | Ashanti |
| Asia M. | Asia Minor |
| Assin. | Assiniboia |
| astron. | astronomy |
| Athab. | Athabasca |
| Atl.O. | Atlantic Ocean |
| Aus. | Austria (including Bohemia) |
| Austr. | Australia |
| Az. | Azores |
| Babyl. | Babylonia |
| Bah. | Bahamas |
| Bal. | Baluchistan |
| Bal.Is. | Balearic Islands |
| Basu. | Basutoland |
| Bav. | Bavaria |
| B.C. | British Columbia |
| Bech. | Bechuanaland |
| Beds. | Bedfordshire |
| Bel.Cong. | Belgium Congo (including Congo Free State) |
| Belg. | Belgium |
| Ber. | Bermudas |
| Berks. | Berkshire |
| bibl. | biblical |
| biol. | biology |
| Bol. | Bolivia |
| Bor. | Borneo |
| Bosn. | Bosnia |
| bot. | botany |
| Braz. | Brazil |
| Br.E.Af. | British East Africa |
| Brit. | Britain |
| Brit.Gui | British Guiana |
| Bucks. | Buckinghamshire |
| Bulg. | Bulgaria |
| Bur. | Burma |
| C.Af. | Central Africa |
| Cal. | California |
| C.Am. | Central America |
| Cambs. | Cambridgeshire |
| Camer. | Cameroon |
| Can. | Canada |
| Can.Is. | Canary Islands |
| Cape Col. | Cape Colony |
| Cauc. | Caucasia or Caucasus |
| Cey. | Ceylon |
| chan. | channel |
| Chan.Is. | Channel Islands |
| chem. | chemistry |
| Ches. | Cheshire |
| Chil. | Chile |
| chron. | chronology |
| co. | county |
| Colo. | Colorado |
| Colom. | Colombia |
| Conn. | Conneecticut |
| Corn. | Cornwall |
| Cors. | Corsica |
| C.R. | Costa Rica |
| Croat.Slav. | Croatia Slavonia |
| crystall. | crystallography |
| Cu. | Cuba |
| Cumb. | Cumberland |
| C.Verd.Is. | Cape Verde Islands |
| d. | daughter |
| Dah. | Dahomey |
| Dalm. | Dalmatia |
| D.C. | Columbia, District of |
| Del. | Delaware |
| Den. | Denmark |
| dept. | department |
| Dev. | Devonshire |
| D.Gui. | Dutch Guiana |
| dict. | dictionary heading |
| dist. | district |
| div. | division |
| D.N.Guin. | Dutch New Guinea |