Citation terms relevant to formatting

The following abbreviations and terms are often used in footnotes and sometimes in the main text. Formatters who are familiar with them will know whether to include a period after them as part of italic markup.

• ante—Latin word meaning "before". Usually italicized; not an abbreviation, so does not have a period.
• c. & ca.—"circa", meaning "about", relating to time. Usually italicized; usually has a period.
• cf.—short for a Latin word meaning "compare". Often used to mean "see". Often italicized; always has a period.
• et seq.—abbreviation of Latin "et sequentes", meaning "and the following things". Usually italicized; always has a period.
• f—means "and the following page". Most often found in indices. Sometimes italicized; may or may not have a period. (See the Chicago Manual of Style.)
• ff—"and the following pages"; see "f"
• fl.—"flourished". Often italicized; always has a period.
• ib.—see "ibid."
• ibid.—Latin meaning "in the same place", referring to a previous citation. Usually italicized; always has a period.
• id.—abbreviation of "idem". Usually italicized; always has a period. See "idem".
• idem—Latin word meaning "the same"; similar to "ibid.". Usually italicized; not an abbreviation, so does not have a period.
• l. c.—see "loc. cit."
• loc. cit.—Latin meaning "in the place cited". Usually italicized; always has the ending period.
• n.—In indices, means "[foot]note on that page". Usually italicized; usually has the ending period.
• op. cit.—Latin meaning "the work cited" or "in the cited work". Usually italicized; always has the ending period.
• p. & pp.—"page" and "pages". Not italicized; almost always has the ending period.
• passim—Latin word meaning "throughout". Usually italicized; not an abbreviation, so does not have a period.
• sic—Latin word meaning "in this manner". Sometimes italicized; never has a period.
• sq. & sqq.—see "et seq.". Usually italicized; always has a period.
• v.—"versus", in legal case titles. Often italicized as part of the case title; usually has a period in DP-era books.
• vide—Latin word for "see". Usually italicized; not an abbreviation, so does not have a period.
• viz.—Latin meaning "namely" or "as follows". Usually italicized; always has a period.