Monsieur | Define Monsieur at Dictionary.com monsieur [muh s-yur; French muh-syœ] /məsˈyɜr; French məˈsyœ/ Spell [meys-yurz, mes-erz; French me-syœ] /meɪsˈyɜrz, ˈmɛs ərz; French mɛˈsyœ/ (Show IPA) 1. the conventional French title of respect and term of address for a man, corresponding to Mr. or sir. Origin of monsieur 1490-1500; < French: literally, my lord (orig. applied only to men of high station); see sire Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for monsieur Expand Contemporary Examples Eight years later, Valjean has assumed a new identity as monsieur Madeleine, a wealthy and benevolent factory owner. En Route J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans “It was too touching, too mournful to be endured,” resumed monsieur Pascal. En Route J.-K.

(Joris-Karl) Huysmans "Excuse me, monsieur," he said to the commissary in a low tone. British Dictionary definitions for monsieur Expand noun (pl) messieurs (French) (mesjø; English) (ˈmɛsəz) 1. a French title of address equivalent to sir when used alone or Mr when placed before a name Word Origin Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for monsieur Expand n. 1510s, from French monsieur, from mon sieur "my lord," from sieur "lord," shortened form of seigneur (see monseigneur ) It was the historical title for the second son or next younger brother of the king of France.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper How to Say Yes in French (with Pictures) - wikiHow 1 Say “oui.” [1] This translates into a simple “yes.” This statement is the basic way of saying “yes” and can be used in just about any circumstance, regardless of how formal or informal the conversation is. Pronounce this French word as wee. If you want to make this response more polite, you can add the French equivalent of “mister,” “missus,” or “miss” to the end of the term. Monsieur, pronounced muh-see-euh, translates into “mister.” Oui, monsieur. Madame, pronounced mah-dehm, translates into “missus.” Oui, madame. Mademoiselle, pronounced mah-dehm-mwah-zel, translates into “miss.” Oui, mademoiselle. 2 Politely offer “oui, merci.” This phrase means “yes, thanks.” Merci means “thanks” or “thank you.” Pronounce this French phrase as WEE, mare-SEE. 3 Reply with “oui, s'il vous plaît.” This is another polite phrase.

It means “yes, please.” As a phrase, s'il vous plaît translates into “please.” More literally, it means, “if you please.” S'il means “if.” State “évidemment.” This translates into “obviously.” Pronounce this French word as eh-vee-dah-mo(n). N is silent! 2 Say “certainement.” In English, this means “definitely” or “surely.” You should pronounce this French term as sir-ten-mo(n). N is silent! 3 Respond with “carrément.” This word translates into the English word “firmly.” This French word should be pronounced as kah-ray-mo(n). 4 Reply with “tout à fait.” This phrase means “quite,” “completely,” or “altogether.” Tout means "all" or "whole." The French à means "with," "to," "by," or "in" when translated into English. Fait means "fact," "event" or "occurrence." Pronounce this French phrase as too tah feh.

5 Answer with "en effet." This translates loosely into “indeed” or “in fact.” En means "in." Pronounce this French phrase as on -ay-feh. 6 Offer a polite “très bien.” Use this phrase to say “very well.” Très means “very.” Bien means “well” or “good." Pronounce this French phrase as tray byahng. 2 State “C'est bien.” [2] This phrase means “that's fine” in English. C'est means “it is.” Bien means “well” or “good.” This French phrase should be pronounced as say byahng. 3 Say “Ça va.” Use this phrase to offer a simple “okay.” Ça means “it.” Va is derived from the French verb aller, meaning “to go,” “to do,” or “to be.” When pronouncing this French phrase, pronounce it as sah vah. 4 Reply with “d'accord.” The English equivalent of this French term is “agreed.” This French phrase should be pronounced as dah-korr. 5 Exclaim “volontiers!” This phrase means “willingly!” You should pronounce this French phrase as vol-on-tee-yay.

6 Excitedly answer with “avec plaisir!” In English, this phrase means “with pleasure!” Avec means “with.” Monsieur - definition of Monsieur by The Free Dictionary Monsieur - definition of Monsieur by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Acronyms , Wikipedia . Mon·sieur (mə-syœ′) n. pl. Mes·sieurs (mā-syœ′, mĕs′ərz) 1. Abbr. M Used as a courtesy title before the surname, full name, or professional title of a man in a French-speaking area: Monsieur Cartier; Monsieur Jacques Cartier. 2. monsieur Used as a form of polite address for a man in a French-speaking area.

[French, from Old French : mon, my (from Latin meum, accusative of meus; see me-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + sieur, lord, sir (from Vulgar Latin *seiorem, accusative of *seior; see sire).] monsieur (French məsjø; English məsˈjɜː) n, pl messieurs (French mesjø; English ˈmɛsəz) a French title of address equivalent to sir when used alone or Mr when placed before a name [literally: my lord] (məˈsyœ) n., pl. mes•sieurs (mɛˈsyœ) the conventional French title of respect and term of address for a man, corresponding to Mr. or sir. [1490–1500; < French: literally, my lord; see sire ] ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: How to Say Good Morning in French (with Example Phrases) Greeting Specific People 1 Add "madame," "mademoiselle," or "monsieur" to the end.

A polite way to address someone after saying “bonjour” is to address that person by his or her appropriate title. [2] State “bonjour” first before stating the listener's title. Madame is the French equivalent of the English “ma'am.” Use this term for married women and pronounce it as mah-dahm. Mademoiselle is the French equivalent of the English “miss.” [3] Use this term for unmarried women and pronounce it as mah-dahm-wuh-zell. Monsieur is the French equivalent of the English “sir” or “mister.” Use this term for any man, married or unmarried, and pronounce it as mer-syer. 2 Tell a group "bonjour à tous." Greet a crowd or audience with this phrase. Translated, à tous means “to all” or “everyone.” This phrase translates roughly into “good morning, everyone” or “good morning to everyone.” You would usually use this greeting when addressing an audience rather than when addressing a group of friends or family. It would generally be considered more polite and more commonplace to greet each person in a friendly group individually instead of all at once.

If you are in a position that prevents you from doing so, however, "bonjour à tous." becomes appropriate. Pronounce bonjour à tous as bon-zhoor ah toos, with the “s” sounding close to a soft “z.” Method Other Morning Greetings 1 Say "bon matin" or "bonne matinée" in certain settings. Both bon matin and bonne matinée translate literally into "good morning," but neither phrase is used often as a greeting. This greeting is rarely used in France, but it can be used in French-speaking Québec as an informal greeting between people who are close, such as family members, friends, classmates, or close co-workers. Matin and matinée both mean "morning." Pronounce bon matin as bohn mah-tahn. Pronounce bonne matinée as bohn mah-teen-ay. 2 Rouse someone awake with "Réveille-toi!" [4] This is an informal way to command someone to wake up when he or she is still asleep in bed. Use this imperative command with children or loved ones you live with.

The phrase should be used to tell someone "wake up!" The term comes from the reflexive verb "se réveiller," meaning, "to wake oneself." Translated more literally, it means, "wake yourself." Pronounce réveille-toi as rheh-vay-twa. 3 Tell someone "Lève-toi!" [5] Like “réveille-toi,” “lève-toi” is an imperative command used to rouse someone awake. Use this command with loved ones you live with, especially sons and daughters or grandsons and granddaughters. It is a casual command and should not be used with anyone you are not on familiar terms with. This phrase comes from the French reflexive verb "se lever," meaning "to get oneself up" or "to rise." Pronounce lève-toi as layv-twa. How do I say: How are you this morning? wikiHow Contributor Formally, or to a group of people: Comment allez-vous ce matin? (C'mon talley voo seh mahtan), The T is pronounced because the next word starts with a vowel, though is usually not pronounced otherwise. Informally, it is: Comment vas-tu ce matin?

C'mon vah too seh mahtan? The N is not pronounced. Very informally to friends and family: Ca va ce matin? Suh vah seh mahtan? It is not always necessary to state whether it is morning or afternoon as the question is usually taken as the present time of day. How do I say "I love you very much, Mark" in French? wikiHow Contributor Literally: "Mark, je t'aime beaucoup"; or, "Mark, je t'aime de tout mon coeur," which means "I love you with all my heart." How do I ask "Where are the toilets" in French? wikiHow Contributor How do I say "Have a good day" in French?

wikiHow Contributor equivalent - definition of equivalent in English | Oxford Dictionaries Definition of equivalent in English: equivalent 1Equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc.: ‘one unit is equivalent to one glass of wine’ More example sentences ‘Add the equivalent amount of sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved.’ ‘An equivalent amount of energy would be necessary to split the atom apart.’ ‘An equivalent amount of normal saline was added to control tubes in lieu of enzyme solution and processed similarly.’ ‘These credits can be applied to medical services at Woodhull for an equivalent dollar value.’ ‘In return, any project that has benefited from the fund must spend the equivalent amount with creative businesses in Wales.’ ‘This gives the equivalent amounts of income respondents are prepared to give up or accept for a change in the level of another characteristic.’ ‘All they were obliged to do was to return an equivalent amount.’ ‘They just wanted me to donate, monthly, the equivalent amount to half a bag of tea-bags.’ ‘The structure has eight cylindrical tubes that store the equivalent amount to that of moneybags.’ ‘Humans would have to eat two cloves of raw garlic a day to obtain the equivalent amount of allicin given to rats in the study.’ ‘Of course, in that

 event, the broker would be unlikely to have paid the equivalent amount to the customer either.’ ‘As such, nominal practice selling prices are higher than equivalent cash values.’ ‘But hang on to the receipt in case you want to exchange it for something of equivalent value in case you don't need that day or you've had it before.’ ‘Meat substitutes generally contain less protein than an equivalent amount of meat.’ ‘We will panic about being unable to afford to replace the boiler and then, on impulse, book a weekend in Ibiza that costs the equivalent amount.’ ‘Had he bought another home for his retirement within the city he would have paid the entire amount for an equivalent property.’ ‘Farmers are now expecting prices to lift by an equivalent amount.’ ‘Negative controls used equivalent amounts of RNA not subjected to reverse transcription.’ ‘But if nothing came to fruition, a fall of an equivalent amount could be on the cards.’ ‘In return, the lessee gives one-third of the harvest or something of equivalent value to the owner.’ Synonyms similar, parallel, analogous, comparable, corresponding, correspondent, interchangeable like, commensurate with, the same as, synonymous with, much the same as amounting, tantamount, approximate, near, close of a kind, of

 a piece coequal 1.1equivalent to Having the same or a similar effect as: ‘some regulations are equivalent to censorship’ More example sentences ‘That is equivalent to the same life reduction you would expect from smoking.’ ‘The shortfall next year alone would be equivalent to 4p on the basic rate of income tax.’ ‘An hour of walking in a pair of these trainers or sandals is apparently equivalent to three hours of hard exercise at the gym.’ ‘That is equivalent to the admission requirements of some Oxford and Cambridge colleges.’ ‘A two-week holiday in school time is equivalent to nearly half a day a week of teaching for two terms.’ ‘The income was equivalent to a two per cent council tax hike, Coun Galloway said.’ ‘It seems somewhat equivalent to winning the midweek and weekend Lottery in the same week.’ ‘Every parent who wants one is given a voucher equivalent to the money that would be spent on educating his or her child.’ ‘It was equivalent to approving violent actions to suppress our freedom of speech.’ ‘They are being asked to donate funds equivalent to a food or drink item from their establishment.’ ‘The effect is equivalent to always rejecting the face-up card that is passed to you.’ ‘When he reaches the top of that he shadow

 boxes, all the while wearing a burden equivalent to a quarter of his own body weight.’ ‘This is equivalent to three bin bags of rubbish per household of four or less people.’ ‘If other countries invade Syria, would that be in any way equivalent to Poland?’ ‘Each day, the race is the equivalent to running six continuous marathons with only nine litres of water.’ ‘Should I set out on such a journey, equivalent to sailing round the world single handed in a rowboat?’ ‘This Mr Whitton presents to us as roughly equivalent to St Francis giving his possessions to the poor.’ ‘Asking any other sector to give us a viable price for our produce is equivalent to begging.’ ‘Aids currently causes deaths equivalent to the Holocaust every two years.’ ‘Additionally, the effect of watching fish was determined to be equivalent to the effect of hypnosis.’ Synonyms equivalent to, equal to, amounting to, as good as, more or less, synonymous with, virtually the same as, much the same as, comparable to, on a par with, commensurate with, along the lines of, as serious as, identical to 1.2Mathematics Belonging to the same equivalence class.

Example sentences ‘A is equivalent to A for all A in the set of upper case Latin characters.’ ‘1 is equivalent to 16, because both have remainder 1 when you divide by three, but 2 is NOT equivalent to 7 because 2 has remainder 2, but 7 has remainder 1.’ noun 1A person or thing that is equal to or corresponds with another in value, amount, function, meaning, etc.: ‘the French equivalent of the Bank of England’ More example sentences ‘This second form of value is basically the equivalent of a signifying chain in semiotics.’ ‘There is no tram equivalent to the National Railway Museum in York, but at least we have the pictures.’ ‘We need urgently to develop our own homegrown equivalent to drive forward change.’ ‘Opting out is the equivalent to handing back to your employer some of your rightful wages.’ ‘The carnival is the equivalent to a big match day in terms of manpower, although it is usually peaceful.’ ‘That is the equivalent to two dentists a week quitting NHS service in the area.’ ‘This amount is the equivalent today to about $750, but in terms of rupees it is not an insignificant sum.’ ‘Any idea without an exact equivalent in

 sterling or status is automatically suspect and marks you as a fool.’ ‘The area sealed off is the equivalent to one quarter of the whole country, which shares a border with Iraq.’ ‘This is surely the media equivalent to saying that the sun revolves around the earth.’ ‘The difference between the expected value and the certainty equivalent is the risk premium for the gamble.’ ‘The singers looked and sounded as if they weren't trying awfully hard - as if this was the musical equivalent of a gentle stroll in the park.’ ‘This amount is the equivalent of one part per billion in weight.’ ‘That sum is the equivalent to the entire GDP of all the countries in question.’ ‘Marias opens the piece by talking about how some phrases just don't have a similar equivalent in other languages.’ ‘In some instances this can amount up to the equivalent of two monthly premiums for the same portfolio.’ ‘Of course, words in one language don't always have exact equivalents in another.’ ‘Money, the means of expression of value as a symbolic equivalent, is comparable, Marx said, to language.’ ‘India was at last ready for a swadeshi equivalent to the New York or London Review of Books.’ ‘Perhaps this is just the modern day equivalent to the old Charabanc trip to

 the sea side.’ Synonyms counterpart, parallel, alternative, match, complement, analogue, double, twin, opposite number equal, peer, rival equivalent - English-French Dictionary WordReference.com equivalent equivalent nnoun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.

([sth] comparable) équivalent nmnom masculin: s'utilise avec les articles "le", "l'" (devant une voyelle ou un h muet), "un". Ex : garçon - nm > On dira "le garçon" ou "un garçon". I weigh 127 lbs. What's the equivalent in kilos? Je pèse 127 livres. Quel est l'équivalent en kilos ? equivalent adjadjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house." (same, similar) équivalent adjadjectif: modifie un nom. Il est généralement placé après le nom et s'accorde avec le nom (ex : un ballon bleu, une balle bleue). En général, seule la forme au masculin singulier est donnée. Pour former le féminin, on ajoute "e" (ex : petit > petite) et pour former le pluriel, on ajoute "s" (ex : petit > petits).

Pour les formes qui sont "irrégulières" au féminin, celles-ci sont données (ex : irrégulier, irrégulière > irrégulier = forme masculine, irrégulière = forme féminine) même adjadjectif: modifie un nom. Il est généralement placé après le nom et s'accorde avec le nom (ex : un ballon bleu, une balle bleue). En général, seule la forme au masculin singulier est donnée. Pour former le féminin, on ajoute "e" (ex : petit > petite) et pour former le pluriel, on ajoute "s" (ex : petit > petits). Pour les formes qui sont "irrégulières" au féminin, celles-ci sont données (ex : irrégulier, irrégulière > irrégulier = forme masculine, irrégulière = forme féminine) Nancy did such a good job of organizing the branch office that she was given a promotion and asked to put an equivalent system in place across all the firm's offices.

Nancy a tellement excellé dans sa restructuration du service qu'on lui a donné une promotion et demandé de mettre en place un système équivalent pour l'ensemble de l'entreprise. ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. Elle fait le même travail que moi dans une autre entreprise mais gagne moins d'argent. equivalent adjadjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house." (of equal value) équivalent adjadjectif: modifie un nom. Il est généralement placé après le nom et s'accorde avec le nom (ex : un ballon bleu, une balle bleue). En général, seule la forme au masculin singulier est donnée. Pour former le féminin, on ajoute "e" (ex : petit > petite) et pour former le pluriel, on ajoute "s" (ex : petit > petits).

Pour les formes qui sont "irrégulières" au féminin, celles-ci sont données (ex : irrégulier, irrégulière > irrégulier = forme masculine, irrégulière = forme féminine) I spent money on a new car, but my husband gave the equivalent sum to charity. Je me suis acheté une nouvelle voiture, mais mon mari a fait don de la somme équivalente à une œuvre de charité. the equivalent of [sth] adj + prep (same as) English French be equivalent to [sth] v exprverbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end." (be the same as) équivaloir à vtr indverbe transitif indirect: verbe qui s'utilise avec un complément d'objet indirect (COI). Ex : "Elle a discuté de ses problèmes." What you just did is equivalent to stealing. Ce que tu viens de faire équivaut à voler.

be equivalent to [sth] v exprverbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end." (equal, equate to) équivaloir à vtr indverbe transitif indirect: verbe qui s'utilise avec un complément d'objet indirect (COI). Ex : "Elle a discuté de ses problèmes." Un euro équivaut à six francs cinquante environ. equivalent circuit monsieur | French title | Britannica.com French title lady Monsieur, abbreviation M, the French equivalent both of “sir” (in addressing a man directly) and of “mister,” or “Mr.” Etymologically it means “my lord” (mon sieur). As an honorific title in the French royal court, it came to be used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king .

The title Monsieur , without an adjoining proper name, was most notably first applied to Henry III’s brother, François, duc d’Alençon , who by the Peace of Chastenoy (1576), popularly called the “Peace of Monsieur,” became the duc d’Anjou. The title was afterward assumed successively by Gaston, duc d’Orléans (brother of Louis XIII); Philippe, duc d’Orléans (brother of Louis XIV); Louis, comte de Provence (brother of Louis XVI; later himself King Louis XVIII); and Charles, comte d’Artois (brother of Louis XVIII; later himself King Charles X). Learn More in these related articles: in mademoiselle ...title in the French royal court, it came to be used (without the adjunction of a proper name) to refer to or address the daughter of the king’s eldest living brother, who was himself called monsieur.

The first to be called mademoiselle was Anne-Marie-Louise d’Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier, popularly called La Grande Mademoiselle, who was the daughter of Gaston, duc... 1 Reference found in Britannica Articles Assorted Reference Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval.

Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution! Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Date Published: July 20, 1998 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share Abbreviations : Capital Letters and Abbreviations Capital Letters and Abbreviations Bibliography Abbreviations An abbreviation is a short way of writing a word or a phrase that could a lso be written out in full. So, for example, you might write Dr Kinsey inste ad of Doctor Kinsey. Here Dr is an abbreviation for the word Doctor. Likewise, the phrase for example can sometimes be abbreviated to e.g. Abbreviations must be clearly distinguished from contractions . The key difference is that an abbreviation does not normally have a distinctive pronunciation of its own.

So, for example, the abbreviation Dr is pronounced just like Doctor, the abbreviation oz is pronounced just like ounce(s) and the abbreviation e.g. is pronounced just like for example. (True, there are a few people who actually say "ee-jee" for the last one, but this practice is decidedly unusual.) A contraction , in contrast, does have its own distinctive pronunciation: for example, the contraction can't is pronounced differently from cannot, and the contraction she's is pronounced differently from she is or she has. Abbreviations are very rarely used in formal writing. Almost the only ones which are frequently used are the abbreviations for certain common titles, when these are used with someone's name: Mr Willis, Dr Livingstone, Mrs Thatcher, Ms Harmon, St Joan. (Note that the two items Mrs and Ms are conventionally treated as abbreviations, even though they can be written in no other way.) When writing about a French or Spanish person, you may use the abbreviations for the French and Spanish equivalents of the English titles: M. Mitterrand, Sr. González.

(These are the usual French and Spanish abbreviations for Monsieur and Señor, equivalent to English Mister.) Observe that each of these abbreviations begins with a capital letter. Other titles are sometimes abbreviated in the same way: Prof. Chomsky, Sgt. Yorke, Mgr. Lindemann. However, it is usually much better to write these titles out in full when you are using them in a sentence: Professor Chomsky, Sergeant Yorke, Monsignor Lindemann. The abbreviated forms are best confined to places like footnotes and captions of pictures. Note carefully the use of full stops in these abbreviations. British usage favours omitting the full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr and St; American usage prefers (A) Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and St., with full stops . Most other abbreviated titles, however, require a full stop , as shown above. A person's initials are a kind of abbreviation, and these are usually followed by full stops : John D. Rockefeller, C. Aubrey Smith, O. J. Simpson.

Increasingly, however, there is a tendency to write such initials without full stops : John D Rockefeller, C Aubrey Smith, O J Simpson. And note the rare special case illustrated by Harry S Truman: the S in this name never takes a full stop , because it's not an abbreviation for anything; President Truman's parents actually gave him the middle name S. Two other common abbreviations are a.m. (`before noon') and p.m. (`after noon'): 10.00 a.m., six p.m. These are always acceptable. Note that these are not capitalized in British usage (though American usage prefers (A) 10.00 am and six pm, with small capitals and no full stops ). Also usual are the abbreviations b.c. and a.d., usually written in small capitals, for marking dates as before or after the birth of Christ: According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 b.c. The emperor Vespasian died in a.d. 79. or The emperor Vespasian died in 79 a.d. It is traditional, and recommended, to write a.d. before the date, but nowadays it is often written after.

Non-Christians who do not use the Christian calendar may prefer to use b.c.e. (‘before the common era') and c.e. (‘of the common era') instead. This is always acceptable: According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 b.c.e. The emperor Vespasian died in 79 c.e. All four of these abbreviations are commonly written in small capitals , and you should follow this practice if you can; if you can't produce small capitals , use full-sized capitals instead. All four of them are also now very frequently written without full stops : 753 bc, ad 79, 753 bce, 79 ce. This reflects the increasing tendency to omit the full stops in abbreviations, and I myself prefer to write 753 bc, and so on. Note also that, when an abbreviation comes at the end of a sentence, only one full stop is written. You should never write two full stops in a row. Many large and well-known organizations and companies have very long names which are commonly abbreviated to a set of initials written in capital letters, usually with no full stops .

Here are a few familiar examples: BBC TUC Trades Union Congress These and some others are so famous that you can safely use the abbreviated forms without explanation. But don't overdo it — not every reader will recognize IRO as the International Refugee Organization, or IOOF as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (an American social and charitable organization). And, if you're writing for a non-British readership, you'd better not use the abbreviated forms of specifically British institutions, such as the TUC, without explaining them. If you are in doubt, explain the abbreviation the first time you use it. (Note that a few of these were formerly written with full stops , such as R.S.P.C.A., but this tiresome and unnecessary practice is now obsolete.) A few other abbreviations are so well known that you can use them safely in your writing. Every reader will understand what you mean by GCSE examinations (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education), or by DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), or by IQ (intelligence quotient), or by FM radio (FM = frequency modulation). Indeed, in some of these cases, the abbreviated form of the name is far more familiar than the full name.

Otherwise, however, you should try to avoid the use of abbreviations in your formal writing. The frequent use of unnecessary abbreviations will make your text irritating and hard to read. So, you should write four ounces (not 4 oz.), 80 miles per hour (not 80 mph), the Church of England (not the C of E), the seventeenth century (not C17 or the 17th cent.) and the second volume (not the 2nd vol.) It is far more important to make your writing easy to read than to save a few seconds in writing it. There is one exception to this policy. In scientific writing, the names of units are always abbreviated and always written without full stops or a plural s. If you are doing scientific writing, then, you should conform by writing 5 kg (not 5 kilogrammes, and certainly not *5 kg. or *5 kgs.), 800 Hz (not 800 Hertz) and 17.3 cm3 (not 17.3 cubic centimetres). There are a number of Latin abbreviations which are sometimes used in English texts. Here are the commonest ones with their English equivalents: e.g.

for example et al. and other people ca. approximately The rule about using these Latin abbreviations is very simple: don't use them. Their use is only appropriate in special circumstances in which brevity is at a premium, such as in footnotes . It is very poor style to spatter your page with these things, and it could be disastrous to use them without being quite sure what they mean. If you do use one, make sure you punctuate it correctly. Here is an example. The recommended form is this: Several British universities were founded in the Victorian era; for example, the University of Manchester was established in 1851. The following version is not wrong, but it is poor style: Several British universities were founded in the Victorian era; e.g., the University of Manchester was established in 1851. But this next version is disastrously wrong, because the punctuation has been omitted: *Several British universities were founded in the Victorian era e.g. the University of Manchester was established in 1851. Using a Latin abbreviation does not relieve you of the obligation of punctuating your sentence. Again, if you avoid Latin abbreviations, you won't get into this sort of trouble. The abbreviation ca.

`approximately' is properly used only in citing a date which is not known exactly, and then usually only if the date is given in parentheses : The famous Basque cemetery of Argiñeta in Elorrio (ca. ad 883) shows tombs with sun-discs but no crosses. Roger Bacon (ca. 1214–1294) was known as "the Admirable Doctor". Here the use of ca. shows that the date of the cemetery and the date of Bacon's birth are not known exactly. If neither birth date nor death date is known for sure, then each is preceded by ca. Outside of parentheses , you should usually avoid the use of ca. and prefer an English word like about or approximately: The city of Bilbao was founded in about 1210. Do not write "...in ca. 1210". The abbreviation etc. calls for special comment. It should never be used in careful writing: it is vague and sloppy and, when applied to people, rather offensive. Do not write something like this: *Central Africa was explored by Livingstone, Stanley, Brazza, etc.

Instead, rewrite the sentence in a more explicit way: Central Africa was explored by Livingstone, Stanley and Brazza, among others. or Central Africa was explored by several Europeans, including Livingstone, Stanley and Brazza. If you do find yourself using etc., for heaven's sake spell it and punctuate it correctly. This is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase et cetera `and other things', and it is pronounced ET SETRA, and not *EK SETRA. Do not write ghastly things like *ect. or *e.t.c. Such monstrosities make your writing look hopelessly illiterate. Again, if you avoid Latin abbreviations, you won't fall into such traps. Finally, there are two further (and highly objectionable) Latin abbreviations ibid. and op. cit. Observe that it is usual to write Latin abbreviations in italics , but this is not strictly essential, and many people don't bother. There has recently been a fashion in some circles for writing Latin abbreviations without full stops , and you may come across things like ie and eg in your reading. I consider this a ghastly practice, and I urge you strongly not to imitate it.

(Note, however, that et al. has only one full stop , since et `and' is a complete word in Latin.) One final point: very many people who should know better use the Latin abbreviation cf., which properly means `compare', merely to refer to published work. It is now very common to see something like this: *The Australian language Dyirbal has a remarkable gender system; cf. Dixon (1972). This is quite wrong, since the writer is not inviting the reader to compare Dixon's work with anything, but only to consult that work for more information. Hence the correct form is this: The Australian language Dyirbal has a remarkable gender system; see Dixon (1972). This widespread blunder is a signal reminder of the danger of using Latin abbreviations when you don't know what they mean. Far too many writers fall into this trap, and write i.e. when they mean e.g., or something equally awful. If you must use a Latin abbreviation, make sure you're using the right one. In most circumstances, though, you are best advised to avoid these abbreviations: almost every one of them has a simple English equivalent which should usually be preferred.

Summary of abbreviations: Which English words do not have equivalents in other languages? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk Which English words do not have equivalents in other languages? Jeffry Larson, Hamden, CT USA To the best of my knowledge, "shallow" cannot be said in one word in French ("peu profond"); another difficult word to translate is "cogent" (how different is it from "coherent"?); other delightful English words: flabbergasted; mind-boggling; the countless nouns and verbs describing sight, light, and sounds (glisten, glare, gleam , rustle, etc...) Maryse Petros, Toulouse France Every language has words and concepts with no single equivalent in other languages. For example, there is no "logic" nor "romance" in Chinese (ok, there are modern day phonetic translations). Try translating/explaining the Danish "hygge" to English.

Lewis, London, UK Another English word with no one-word French equivalent is "Peck", which translated into French is "Donner de coupe de la bec" or "Attack with the front of the beak." Raven Garcia, Whitechapel, London, England In my professional life as a traslator I have translated some 203 books from English into Spanish. The worst I've found is "insight". Alejandro Pareja, Madrid Spain A frind of mine says that there is no foreign equivalent for the word "stuff" in it's "collection of things" sense. Robin Hall, Hitchin UK According to George W Bush "...the problem with the the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur." Eddie Ryan, Villeneuve d'Ascq France Portuguese doesn't have the words "bully" or "impeach", while bread dough, cake mix, batter and pastry are all called "massa". There are some words in Portuguese without English equivalents too, starting with "Jarrete" (the back of the knees) and "tez" (face skin) F. R.

Offa, SÃ£o Paulo Brazil I don't think there is an English word that can't be translated into any other language, but specific examples for specific languages abound. You can't say that you "miss" something in Japanese for example. I would guess that there are lots of slang words in particular that don't quite carry the same flavour or meaning of the English original. Sam, Higashine Japan I don't think there is an English word that can't be translated into any other language, but specific examples for specific languages abound. You can't say that you "miss" something in Japanese for example. I would guess that there are lots of slang words in particular that don't quite carry the same flavour or meaning of the English original. Sam, Higashine Japan Until the rise of the fashion magazine of the same name, I always had trouble explaining 'glamour' to Polish learners. Two Polish words which defy translation into English would be 'kombinowac' and 'zalatwic' (apologies for the lack of Polish symbols). They both mean something like 'sort out' in an illegal way but with a positive connotation - a legacy of outwitting the communist authorities and system for many years.

Aeddan Shaw, KrakÃ³w Poland I beg to disagree with Raven Garcia: for a start, his "translations" are written in a funny sort of French (beware the dreaded automatic translators!). " "peck" (noun) is definitely a "bÃ©cot" or "bise" (kiss), while "peck" (verb) does translate as "donner un coup de bec" (poultry,/aggressive) or "faire une bise" (people / friendly). Maryse Petros, Toulouse France `VicariousÂ´causes some problems in German, becoming more of an explanatory sentence. Daniel Morris, GÃ¶ttingen Germany 'Nice' is a very difficult word to translate into other languages. Fragano Ledgister, Atlanta, USA My (German) friend Marianne had to admit there is no normal equivalent in German for the self-referring equivalent of our word "Anglophile" to mean a lover of German or Germany. I'm not sure if other languages similarly lack a word meaning "others' love of us". Jim Scobbie, Edinburgh Don't forget - apparently the French have no word for "entrepreneur".

That anecdote about George W Bush tells you everything you need to know about linguistic borrowing and lexical equivalences across languages. So in answer to your question, the answer is "all of them". Jim Scobbie, Edinburgh The English words for all the different ways of walking (wander, stamp, stride, stagger, stumble, etc.) have to be paraphrased in some way when translated into Spanish (caminar sin rumbo fijo, caminar pisando fuerte, caminar a zancadas largas, etc.). Alistair, Mexico City, Mexico The word `serendipityÂ´ is also a word that is just about translatable with something like a `happy accidentÂ´. `SerendipitousÂ´ does tend to furrow a few brows though. Daniel Morris, GÃ¶ttingen, Germany My Spanish girlfriend and I speak a hybrid of English and Spanish in which we automatically use the word which best expresses the meaning we want to communicate. Often this involves using one word in Spanish where English would require several words in order to express the same idea, and vice versa.

My favourite Spanish word in this sense is 'ganas' (plural of 'gana'), as in 'no tengo ganas' which translates as 'I don't feel like it' but literally means 'I haven't got any ganas', whatever ganas are. I find myself saying things like 'I haven't got much ganas today' (curiously, using 'much' even though the plural noun would normally require 'many').In effect, 'ganas' has become part of my English vocabulary. Mark Lloyd, Bath UK "Put" cannot be translated into German. One has to use another German word which has an equivalent in English i.e. "stack", "lay", "stand", etc. depending on where and how something is being put. To that extent, "put" would seem superfluous. John Cockling, Halesowen, England I have been speaking and communicating in Spanish for the last 6 years and although I try, I fail to find the equivalent of 'crush' or 'to have a crush on someone' in Spanish. Any ideas? Lucy, Marbella Spain Probably all of them.

The dictionary may give us approximate translations of words, but we must interpret these according to our own experience. The word "hill", for example, is easy to translate, but according to the country in which we are brought up our mental picture of a hill will vary. One of the things that first struck me on arriving in Japan was that it would be possible to stand with one foot on the hill and the other on the plain, a feat which would be impossible on the the undulating hills of Britain, where one cannot tell where the hill begins. The mental image of a "hill", therefore, is quite different for a British or a Japanese person, or even for an American, where translation is not required. All words and expressions have cultural and behavioural connotations which cannot be transferred to another language without explanation. Consider, for example, the simple act of having a "bath". The Westerner gets into a long, fairly shallow tub, soaps himself vigorously, and then lets the water run away. The Japanese soaps and rinses himself thoroughly outside his squarish and deep tub, and when he is quite clean gets into the hot water to soak there at leisure. Ideally, for maximum enjoyment,the water should overflow when he gets in.

When he has finished, he leaves the water for the next person. The cultural norms of bath-taking then produce a psychological dimension: the Japanese person, thinking of the Westerner sitting among his soapsuds, thinks "Ugh! - how dirty!" while the Westerner, thinking of having to get into water that someone else has already used, thinks in turn "Ugh! - how dirty!" While we agree that they are both washing the entire body, rather than just the hands and face, can one say that the Westerner and the Japanese are really performing the same act? A Japanese child would not have reacted as I did when I first heard about Archimedes, who discovered his famous Principle when his bath overflowed as he stepped in to it. Instead of admiring his genius, I thought, appalled, "Whatever did his wife have to say about the mess in the bathroom!" When our interpretion of a concrete object or a daily routine can vary so widely, how much more scope there is for misunderstanding when we discuss abstract ideas! M. Heather Kotake, Sendai, Japan How about 'home' ? I dare say the Greeks have a word for this phenomenon. Paul Thompson, Perth, Scotland It.

Languages which sex inanimate objects refer to everything as He or She. I suspect they would say this says something about the English... Pete, Cambridge Uk Of course in addition to lacking their own words for entrepreneur, menu and restaurant, the french also have no real words for the numbers between 69 and 100. If anyone can shed any light on why, I would be interested. Are septante, hiutante, and neufante obscenities in French? Tim Skerry, Sheffield UK May I turn the question around? In my native language (Frisian - spoken in the north of the Netherlands) we of course have a word for pouring a liquid into a container, but in addition we have a word for 'pouring' a dry substance like sugar or flower into any container - this word is RUGELJE. Does English or any other language also have such a word?

Geart Van Der Meer, Midlaren, The Netherlands The way the French expression "Ooh-la-la" is most commonly used in English has to be translated into French as something like "Chic alors!" (oh goody!); which is almost the direct opposite of the sense of the original French "ooh-la-la" (here comes trouble)! Greg Smith, Trenton, NJ USA I don't know why the French can't count properly after 69, but the Walloons can. In Belgium they have septante, octante and nonante. The Swiss count likewise,I believe. The French, however, split their sides when they hear this, but their attitude towards Francophone Belgians and Swiss is another story. So much, anyway, for Gallic logic. Tony Kellaway, Havant, UK 'reticent' is another one that doesn't have a French equivalent. You have to use 'peu communicatif' instead. Mark Harris, Enfield UK Following a European Directive, the word "gullible" is to be removed from all EU members' dictionaries from 2011.

Saffron, Lancaster, Lancashire There is the Verb in German rutschen, to slide or as a noun, Rutsch - used for a landslide for instance. Ruckus is an English word used amongst other things for agitation. Not sure but maybe food for thought. Daniel Morris, GÃ¶ttingen Germany Tony Kellyaway is not entirely correct about the French numbers between seventy and ninety nine. Septante, huitante, octante and nonante are common in French-speaking Switzerland, the Aosta Valley, Belgium, Zaire and Rwanda, although dirigiste Francophones deplore these dialect neologisms. Charles Norrie, Islington United Kingdom schunkeln in German hasn't got an equivalent in English. It means 'to link arms with the people to your right and left and sway from side to side in time to the music' - the sort of thing that happens at Fastnacht after a a bit of beer has been consumed. Peter, Ãhningen-Wangen Germany "Challenge" is one of the toughest to translate into French. It has mostly to be "interpreted" or paraphrased to make any sense and sound right.

When I first started translating, I learned this word is one we use in English when we're not sure of the answer, "Well, it's a challenge." We use it so others will think we are smarter than we are. Robert , Toronto, Canada "Challenge" is usually translated in "dÃ©fi", but the English word is accepted as well. A common English word that has no French translation is 'weekend' when used to designated days off at the end of the week. We have to use the English word. Chris, Toulouse, France "Picture" and "image" in French. Arnaud, Marseille, France In Quebec we say "fin de semaine" for weekend - it means the same thing. Michael, QC, Canada 'pouring' a dry substance like sugar or flower into any container - this word is RUGELJE. Does English or any other language also have such a word? Geart Van Der Meer, Midlaren, The NetherlandsÂ On the subject of English words I always liked "jinxÂ Â it can't be translated to Polish in one word, you have to say Âsomething that brings bad luckÂ.

The other way around, there's this type of steel-caped boots with additional piece of leather sewn over the toes, they're popular in rock and metal subcultures and the Polish word is "glanyÂ. EnglishÂ eh, steel-toed combat boots? But that can refer to boots with hidden metal plate, without the leather cap over the toes. Basia, Wroclaw Poland It pains me that "awkward" has no exact translation in Italian. There is no word to explain the feeling. When I tried to explain this word in Italy, the translations I got ranged from "imbarazzate" (embarrassing) to "scomodo" (uncomfortable). None of them get the right mixture of embarrassment, discomfort, and uncertainty to really mean "awkward." Stephanie, Sacramento USA English does not have a single word for 'open minded'. Nor is there is a single word for 'risk taker'. Megan, Canberra Australia In IT terms, there are three things you can do with a piece of data, you can add it, delete it or update it. However, you can only form nouns describing these actions from two of these.

English speaking Indian IT types, however have invented a delightful and relevant word and happily speak of Addition, Deletion and Updation. Charles Brewer, Westcott United Kingdom In a fruit and vegetable preservation factory nearby they have a word for the place where goods come in which takes the ending from arrival to make an equivalent: the 'receival' gate. Works! Steve, Napier NZ Try finding a Frenh word for 'off'. Brian Laurancet, Woolsingham England I think that the word "ailment" cannot be translated in French as cogent and peck. Fiorina , Toulouse. France The verb to enjoy + direct object has no equivalence in French, or Spanish - you have to use a circumlocution to get the idea across. David, Barnsley UK Actually, "enjoy" in Spanish can be translated as "disfrutar". Lau Barraza, Mexico

Question: What is the French equivalent of the word "mister"?
Answer: Monsieur