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

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

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.

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

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

From Salon

“They are the party of the Confederate South. They are the party of the Ku Klux Klan. They are the party of Jim Crow, the party that opposed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. They are the party that wanted redlining, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”

From Salon

"Knowledge of the Italian language, not having criminal charges, continuous residence et cetera - all the various requirements remain the same," explains Carla Taibi of the liberal party More Europe, one of several backers of the referendum.

From BBC

"Once Donald Trump said there was nothing to see here, essentially, and once Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe said there was no sensitive information, no classified information, et cetera - we felt like, hm, we disagree," he said.

From BBC

She said "ideas like this are vital to our children", but said the "the difficulty is, although we are getting 60p per child and and 78p per free school meal child, it's not enough to cover the cost in terms of staffing, the food, resources, et cetera."

From BBC