et al.

¹

[et al, ahl, awl]

abbreviation

1. and others.

et al.

²

[et al, ahl, awl]

abbreviation

1. and elsewhere.

et al.

abbreviation

1. et alibi

2. et alii

Word History and Origins

Origin of et al.¹

< Latin et aliī (masculine plural), et alia (neuter plural)

Origin of et al.²

From Latin et alibi

When To Use

What does et al. mean?

Et al. is an abbreviation used to mean “and others.” It’s usually used when listing people, and it always comes at the end of the list.Et al. comes from Latin and is an abbreviation of et aliī (or variations of the phrase), literally translating as “and others.”It’s typically used in cases in which people are being listed, but there are too many (or there is not enough space) to list all of them by name. It’s commonly used in academic writing when citing a written work that has several authors.What is the difference between et al. and etc. (et cetera)? Although et cetera literally translates as “and the other,” as in “and the other things,” it’s typically used to mean “and so on” or “and so forth”—meaning something like “and similar things.”Example: The groundbreaking study was conducted by Eiseman et al.