et cetera

[et set-er-uh, se-truh]

adverb

1. and others; and so forth; and so on (used to indicate that more of the same sort or class might have been mentioned, but for brevity have been omitted): etc.

   He had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, frogs, et cetera, as pets.

et cetera

/ ɪt ˈsɛtrə /

1. and the rest; and others; and so forth: used at the end of a list to indicate that other items of the same class or type should be considered or included

2. or the like; or something else similar

Usage

Et cetera , a Latin phrase, appears in English writing most frequently in its abbreviated form, etc . This phrase is used frequently in technical and business writing, somewhat less frequently in general informal writing, and sometimes in literary or formal writing. Expressions such as and so forth and and so on are useful substitutes. Because “and” is included in the meaning of et cetera , the expression and et cetera is redundant.

It is unnecessary to use and before etc as etc ( et cetera ) already means and other things. The repetition of etc, as in he brought paper, ink, notebooks, etc, etc, is avoided except in informal contexts

Pronunciation Note

Pronunciations with substituted for the first : , or , although occasionally used by educated speakers, are usually considered nonstandard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of et cetera¹

First recorded 1100–50; late Old English, from Latin et cētera, equivalent to et “and” + cētera, accusative neuter plural of cēterus “the rest of, the remainder”

Word History and Origins

Origin of et cetera¹

from Latin, from et and + cetera the other (things)

Example Sentences

He claimed, “We’ve done all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia, and we’ve improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it’s painful, and it’s a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”

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“She screamed at all these people that made her do it, bad people like Schiff, et cetera, et cetera. So what happened is, she went nuts and just to conclude, and they said, ‘Let’s do it anyway.’”

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"Our serious crime directorate has been involved in these operations, which they wouldn't normally be. They would normally be involved in firearms offences, drug importation, et cetera."

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These associations are used to disbarring people who, say, defrauded their clients or were utterly incompetent in court over and over again, et cetera.

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“It causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera.”

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