Children's Illustrated Dictionary.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

AC air-conditioning, or

alternating current

(An electrical current that

travels first in one direction,

then in another.)

ad advertisement

AD in the year of our Lord

(Used in dates to count

the year after the birth of

Jesus Christ, e.g., AD 400.

From the Latin anno Domini.)

AIDS Acquired Immune

Deficiency Syndrome

(A disease that makes a person

unable to fight illnesses.)

a.m. before noon

(Used with times, e.g., 9 a.m.

From the Latin ante meridiem.)

anon anonymous

approx. approximately

Apr. April

A.S.A.P. as soon as possible

AST Alaska standard time

AtlAtlantic

Aug. August

Ave. avenue

b born

BA Bachelor of Arts

(A title given to someone who

has a liberal arts degree.)

during the winter, and from

which time all around the

world is measured.)

GP general practitioner

(The title given to an all-

purpose medical doctor.)

HIV Human

Immunodeficiency Virus

(The virus that causes AIDS.)

HMO health maintenance

organizaiton

hp horse power

HQ headquarters

HST Hawaiian standard

time

hwy highway

ICT Information and

Communication Technology

ID identification

i.e. that is

(From the Latin id est.)

in inch

Inc. Incorporated

(Used in the names of most

US companies.)

Inst. Institute

IOU I owe you

IQ intelligence quotient

(A test score that claims to

measure a person’s

intelligence.)

IVF in vitro fertilization

(a medical technique where

a woman’s eggs are fertilized

outside the womb.)

Jan. January

Jr. junior

kg kilogram

km kilometer

kph kilometers per hour

Dec. December

dept. department

DIY do-it-yourself

(Used to describe repairs

and decorating that people

do to their own homes.)

DJ disc jockey

Dr. doctor

DVD digital

versatile/video disc

dz dozen

E east

EAL English as

an additional language.

e.g. for example

(From the Latin exempli

gratia.)

Email electronic mail

ESP extrasensory perception

(A sense that some people are

said to have that makes them

aware of ghosts and other

things that most people are

unable to see or feel.)

EST eastern standard time

etc. and all the rest

(From the Latin et cetera.)

F Fahrenheit

FBI Federal Bureau

of Investigation

(An agency of the American

Department of Justice.)

Feb. February

flu influenza

Fri. Friday

ft foot

g gram

GMT Greenwich Mean

Time

(The time used in the UK

BC Before Christ

(Used in dates to count the

years before the birth of

Jesus Christ, e.g., 30 BC.)

BS Bachelor of Science

(A title given to someone who

has a science degree from a

college or university.)

C Celsius or Centigrade

c. about

(Used with historical dates

that are not certain. From

the Latin circa.)

CD compact disc

CIA Central Intelligence

Agency

(The US government

department that deals with

spies and state secrets.)

cm centimeter

Co. Company

(Used after the names

of some companies.)

c/o care of

cont’d continued

CST central standard time

d died

DC District of Columbia

or direct current

(An electrical current

that travels in only

one direction.)

Abbreviations

An abbreviation is a short form of a word or

phrase. Some abbreviations are made by just

shortening a word. For example, ad is short

foradvertisement, and max is short for

maximum. Other abbreviations, such as

CD for compact disc, are made from the

first letters of the words that they stand for.

On this double page you will find a useful

alphabetical list of common abbreviations.