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Et Al for Dummies

adverb

pronunciation: ɛt_'æl

What does Et Al really mean?

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Hey there! So, the term "et al" is actually short for "et alia," which is Latin for "and others." It's often used in academic and legal writing to refer to multiple people or authors without listing all of their names.

Let's say you're reading a research paper and you come across a citation like "Smith et al., 2019." This means that the research was conducted by Smith and a group of other people, but the specific names of those other people aren't listed.

So, "et al" is kind of like a shortcut for saying "and others" when referring to a group of people. It's a handy way to avoid having to list out every single person's name if there are a lot of them involved in a project or study.

For example, if you and your friends worked on a science project together, instead of listing out each of your friends' names, you could just use "et al" to indicate that it was a collaborative effort without having to name everyone individually.

I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions about it.

Revised and Fact checked by Sarah Anderson on 2023-12-17 00:28:54

Et Al In a sentece

Learn how to use Et Al inside a sentece

  • The article was written by Smith, Johnson, et al, which means it was written by Smith, Johnson, and others.
  • The research study was conducted by Williams, Brown, et al, which means it was conducted by Williams, Brown, and others.
  • The art exhibit featured paintings by Davis, Clark, et al, which means it featured paintings by Davis, Clark, and others.
  • The performance included music by Mozart, Beethoven, et al, which means it included music by Mozart, Beethoven, and others.
  • The study group consisted of students from Smith, Johnson, et al, which means it consisted of students from Smith, Johnson, and others.

Et Al Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.