Author Description

Compiled from the resources of the Oxford English Dictionary and a wide range of national newspapers and journals, this is a brand new and totally up-to-date guide to every kind of abbreviation. Covering the most important business, scientific, and technical abbreviations, as well as those in everyday use, the dictionary has over nineteen thousand entries, and includes acronyms (e.g. ROM), initialisms (e.g. OED), shortenings (e.g. Sun. for Sunday), symbols and signs (e.g. K, HZ, and A4), and hybrid forms (e.g. A-bomb). Graphic symbols such as proofreading marks, hallmarks, music, science, and weather symbols are all given in a series of appendices. Anyone who reads or writes current English will find this accessible reference useful, but it will be indispensable to professionals, businesses, technical writers, and journalists.