COMMONEST ABBREVIATIONS,SIGNS, ETC.

USED IN THE APPARATUS TOA CLASSICAL TEXT

Karl Maurer, Departmentof Classics, 215 Carpenter Hall, The University of Dallas,

1845 East NorthgateDrive, Irving TX 75062

When I was in graduate school and first starting to usean apparatus criticus, I could nowhere find any list explaining commonabbreviations and could often only guess at what they meant, and this was oftenmaddening.   So for students I here offer a small list; it is certainlyvery incomplete, but includes all the abbreviations that occur to me.   Iinclude also some whole words, which in textual criticism have a specialpregnant meaning (see e.g. "ex").   I am much indebted to ScottScullion of Worcester College, Oxford foradditions and several corrections.

When a Latin adjective is neuter -- e.g. 'alia'or   'alterum' -- it normally agrees with neuter 'verba' or 'verbum' thatwe supply in thought.   A Latin plural noun or adj. is represented by adouble consonant; so e.g. 'vet. cod.' = vetus codex, 'vett. codd.' = veterescodices.

A B C (etc.) = thesigns (sigla) of the "capital MSS", i.e. the most importantMSS, usually described in the preface, & identified in a list that precedesthe text.   E.g." δέ A B: τε C"   = "the capital MSS A and B have δέ and C has τε.   (" : "separates the readings).   But often a MS (in older editions, any; inrecent editions, a rarely used MS, too unimportant to have a siglum) isrepresented not by a siglum but by an abbreviation of its name, e.g. Laur.= (codex) Laur(entianus), or Vat. 226 = codex Vaticanus 226.

a b c (etc.) =either (a) less important MSS, or else (b) families of MSS.   (In a"family", all its MSS tend to have the same or similar errors; sothey seem descended from a common exemplar.)

α β γ (etc.) = (usually) lost "hyparchetypes" (alias"proarchetypes", alias "proexemplars"), i.e. conjecturedlost MSS, from which the best of ours seem to derive.   So e.g.perhaps A B D descend from α, F M from β -- etc.   (But sometimes--esp. inolder editions--these Greek letters are also used for manuscript"families"; or sometimes even for extant MSS.   You have to readthe editor's preface.)

A¹A² A³(etc.) = the main copyist's hand in A, a 2nd handin A, a 3rd hand in A.   Such a 2nd or 3rd hand is usually that of a corrector;so A² or A³ is sometimes called A^corr..  

A₁A₂ A₃   (etc.)   Subscript numbers usually meannot mere correctors but actual copyists when there were more than one. I.e. one can discern that A₁ copied everything till a certain page;then A₂   took over; etc.

A^f   B^fm (etc.)   Superscript letters often refer toscholia (i.e. ancient notes on the passage: see below, "Σ"), andoften they are named after the MSS in which they appear in their fullestform.   So e.g. "δέ codd.: τε A^f" might meanthat in this place all the MSS (including A) read δέ, but in A, the f scholia(i.e. the ancient notes which F has in their fullest form) quote our passageand have τε.   (But superscript letters often have quite other meanings --you have to read the editor's list of sigla carefully.)

abiud.= abiudicavit= "hasreassigned".   E.g. "haec Euripidi abiud. Page" = "Pagereassigned these (words) from Euripides" to someone else; i.e. in Page'sjudgement Euripides did not write them.

a.c. = antecorr. = ante correctionem = before correction; e.g. "δέ] τε Aa.c." means: "all copies (including A) have δέ, but A has τε beforecorrection".

ad   ="at" or "on". Usually used in citing ancient or moderncommentary; so e.g. "Porfyrio ad Hor. c.4.29" ="see Porfyrio's commentary on Horace, Ode 4.29; there Porfyrio quotes ourpassage".

add. = addidit= added (tends to mean the same as "suppl.", on which see below)

addub. = addubitavit= "has doubted"

al. = alii or = alibi= elsewhere

alii = others,i.e. (usually) other editors, or other manuscripts.

alii alia = "heresome (conjecture) some (words); others, other (words)", often written whenno conjecture seems right.

alterum τε = "the other τε” = "the second ofthe two τε 's".   (For example, see under"del."   For its opposite see "prius".)

an | anne...? "perhaps",introducing the editor's tentative suggestion

ante ="before" (both in time and space), e.g. "τε ante corr." =τε before correction.

ap. = apud ="at".   See "ad"

a.r. = anterasuram, "before erasure".

ca. = circa= "about, approximately".  

cens. = censuit (pl.censuerunt) = "judged", "considered".

cett. = cetericodices, "the other manuscripts"

cf. = confer= compare.   "Cf." is often followed by the number of a passage,in which you will find a usage similar to that which the editor positshere.   (In old editions you sometimes see "cp." ="compare")

ci. = cj.= conj. (q.v.)

cl. = coll.

cod(d). = codex(codices) = mss. = manuscripts.   E.g. "τε codd."= all MSS have this, but it seems wrong.   Cf. "emend."

coll. = collatocodice (pl. collatis codicibus) = lit. "with that MScollated" (i.e. after collating that MS); or else = collato loco| lectione = lit. "with that place | reading compared" (i.e.after comparing that place or reading with this one -- for an example, seeunder "def.").

conj. = conicit(coniecit, conieci) = "conjectures" ("conjectured","I conjecture").   So e.g. "te conj. Wil." ="Wilamowitz conjectured te".   Or e.g. "τε conieci" = "I have conjectured τε" (i.e."τε is my conjecture").

cont. = continuavit(pl. continuaverunt) = "continued (to)" e.g. "10-12El. cont. Smith" = "Unlike others, Smith thinks that Electra (who hasbeen speaking up to verse 9) continues to verse 12."

cont. = contulit= compared.

corr. = correctio= correction.

damn. = damnavit ="condemned", i.e. thought corrupt.

deest or pl. desunt= (this word) is missing, [these words] are missing).   E.g. "τε deest L" = τε is missing in L. (Compare "om."   "Om." is normally used when the moderneditor feels certain that the omission was made in error; "deest",when he feels less certain of this.   Deest and desunt areused especially for inscriptions and papyri; see e.g. under"ll.")   'Deest' sometimes indicates that the evidence ofa papyrus is unavailable for this letter/word/passage (because the papyrus isdamaged or its reading for some other reason is illegible)

def. = defendit= defends, or (pf.) has defended.   E.g. "τε def. Hude coll.7.21.3" = "Hude defends τε here, comparing its use at 7.21.3 with itsuse here."   

del. = delevit= "deleted", or delevi = "I have deleted", e.g."alterum τε del. Wil." = "Wil. deleted the 2nd τε".   (For more about this see under "secl.")

dett. = deteriores(codices) = inferior MSS.

dist. = distinxit= has punctuated.   Often refers to a period; e.g. "post τε dist.Hude" = "Hude punctuates with a full stop after τε."

dub. = dubius= doubtful or dubitanter = doubtfully.

e or ex= "from" or "on the basis of".   E.g. "ὅμως ὢν] ὁμοίως Leutsch e schol." = " the MSS have ὅμως ὢν.   Leutsch, unlike us, emends that to ὁμοίως on the basisof the scholium here" (i.e. because the scholium has, or implies, that readinghere).   Or e.g. "-βρόντα ] -βρέντα conj. Snell e Pae.12.9" = "Snell conjectures that -βρόντα, given by the MSS, is acorruption of the very rare form -βρέντα, whichoccurs in Paean 12, line 9"

edd. = editores= editors.   edd. vett. = editores veteres = old (usually15th or 16th-century, and Italian) editors or editions.   So e.g."alterum τε del. edd.vett." = "earlier editorsdeleted the 2nd τε".   (These"edd. vett." are sometimes cited because they may have used good MSSnow lost.)

ed. pr. = editioprinceps = the first printed edition.

em. = emend. = emendavit(emendat) = emended (emends).   Used when all the MSS are plainly wrong(see "codd.").   E.g. in his text an editor prints ... τε..., and in his apparatus says: "τε] δε codd. (emend. Wil.)" = "the best MSS have δε; the τε which I print is an emendation, probably right, by Wilamowitz".

exp. =expunxit: has deleted.

fere = "almost" or"in general"

fin. or ad fin. or sub fin. = at ortowards the end (of the line, passage, page, etc.)

fort. or fors.= fortasse or forsan = perhaps; conceivably. (I.e. the editorstresses that he is guessing.)

fr. = fragmentum= fragment

gl. = glossa= gloss

γρ. or gr.= γράφεται (pl. γράφονται) = (lit.)"is written" ("are written") -- applies to variant readingswhich are labelled as such in the MS itself, usually by this sameabbreviation."   So e.g. "δέ] τε γρ. Α²"means that next to δέ, the second hand in A (e.g. a corrector) has written"γρ. τε" (or "τε γράφεται"), meaning that he has seen thatvariant reading in another MS.   (When the variant is not thuslabelled in the MS itself, our apparatus has not   "γρ."but   "v.l.", for which see below.)   Often the nature ofthese additions is discussed in the modern editor's Preface.

h.v. = hunc versum = "thisverse"

iam = "already",usually with the name of a scholar whose emendation was already close to thetruth (cf. praeeunte below).

i.m. = in margine (see "marg.")

indic. =indicavit(pl. indicaverunt)= "indicated", especiallyof a lacuna, e.g "post h. v. lac. indic. Smith" = "Smith markeda lacuna after this verse"

inf. = infra= "below".

inf. = inferior= "inferior", lower, later; or = infra = "below".

init. = initiumor ad initium = "near the beginning" (of the line, of theword, etc.)

ins. =inseruit = inserted

inscr. =inscriptum (or -a) = written into; or = inscriptio.

interl. = interlineas = "this word is interlinear", written between the lines.

i.r. = inrasura (see "ras")

i.t. = intextu = in the text, in the text itself.

lac. = lacuna =lacuna, i.e. a gap in the transmitted text.

lect. = lectio= reading, i.e. (usually) the word(s) that a MS has in this place.

lit. or inlit. = in litura = "on top of an erasure", or a blot (see"ras.")

ll. = litt.= litterae = letters.   E.g. "desunt ca. 15 ll.","about 15 letters are missing".

loc. = lococitato = in the passage cited

loc. = locumor locus = place (in a work), e.g. ad locum = "at (that)place", or loc. coll. = (lit.) "with (that) placecompared".

malim = "Iwould prefer", expressing the editor's tentative preference

m. = manus= "hand", i.e. copyist

marg. or mg.= margen = margin.   "τε in mg." = "τε (was written) in the margin".

m.r. = manusrecentior = a more recent copyist

ms(s) =manuscripts (no difference between this and "codd.")

mut. = mutavit= has changed

nonnulli = nonnullieditores = some editors

nota ="indication of speaker", in dramatic texts, e.g. "Chor. trib. A:nulla nota B" = "manuscript A marks this line as the Chorus's butmanuscript B does not indicate the speaker"

numeri = 'meter'

olim ="once", of a suggestion later withdrawn, or regarded as superseded,by its author

om. = omittitor omisit = omits or omitted.   E.g. "τε om. A"= τε is missing in A (lit. "A omits τε" -- but probably not deliberately).  

P. (PP.) = Π(pl. ΠΠ) = Pap. (pl. papp.)   = papyrus.   E.g."τε P. Berol." = "the Berlin papyrus has τε here", or e.g. "τε P.Oxy. 1356" = theOxyrhynchus papyrus 1356 has τε,   or "τε Π^corr" = "in the papyrus τε was written by the corrector". (Good libraries have editions of all the papyri; and if a reading is importantto you, it is sometimes worthwhile to look these up.   For a papyrus isusually an ancient copy of the text, usually 3rd c. B.C. to 3rd c. A.D.;and its modern edition usually has a commentary, in which the editor may giveyou his expert impression of what that copy is worth generally, and perhapsalso offer his own, very acute opinions about the reading in question.)

p.c. = postcorrectionem = "after correction" (see under "a.c.").

pler. =plerique = "very many or most" (editors or MSS).

plur. = plures= "most" (editors or MSS).

possis = "youcould", i.e. consider or try this very tentative conjecture.

pot. qu. = potiusquam = '(is) more likely than', 'rather than' e.g. (re a papyrus reading)"Ν] pot. qu. Λ" = "the letter may seem to be a lambda,but it is more likely a nu."   

p.r. = postrasuram, after an erasure

praeeunte /praemonente = "with (so-and-so) preceding (i.e. leading theway)", used of an emendation that is indebted to some observation,suggestion, warning, or objection by a prior scholar.

prius (or prior)= the earlier (of the two); e.g. "prius τε" = the first τε (for itsopposite, see "alterum").

pro ="instead of, in place of", e.g. "δε pro τε A" = "A has δε instead of τε".

prob. = (ad)probavit= "has agreed, has approved" (or = the present participleprobante); e.g. "τε coni. Hude prob. Wil." = "Hudeconjectured τε ; Wilamowitz agreed" (or abl. "with Wil.agreeing").

quoservato... = "retaining which, ...", indicating a readingto be adopted or a suggestion to be considered elsewhere in the passage if oneretains the present reading in the text

ras. = in ras.= in rasura = on, on top of, an erasure, e.g. "τε in ras. A" = "A has τε (written) over anerasure".

recc. = recentiores,lit. "later (MSS)".   For Latin MSS this usually means 15th,16th-century Italian; for Gk. it means late Byzantine.   The recc. areusually derivative (all copied from copies of the capital MSS), yet sometimesthey alone preserve some ancient readings, which they got by collation (i.e.they took readings from good ancient MSS now lost).

recte =rightly.   Usually used when the editor is citing someone else'sconjecture, which he thinks right.

rell. = reliqui= the other (MSS), the remaining (MSS)

s. = saec. =saeculum = century.

Σ (pl. ΣΣ)= scholium (pl. scholia),i.e. Hellenistic or Byzantine note(s) on this passage.   Many of thesenotes originated in ancient commentaries, which were published separately fromthe text and resembled modern commentaries.   In the early middle ages,they ceased to be copied (so that hardly any survive, except in a few papyrusfragments); but in the early middle ages, many remarks taken from them werewritten in the margins of the texts themselves.   So modern editors alwaysscrutinize the scholia, because some quote or reflect the text as it was inancient times, perhaps in a purer state.  

Σ^abc= the scholion or (pl.) scholia on this passage in manuscripts A, B, C.

sc. = scil. =scilicet = no doubt, certainly.

schol. (pl. scholl.)= scholium (scholia), or (sometimes) scholiast. (See above, Σ).  

scripsi = "Ihave written"; e.g. "τε scripsi: de codd."-- i.e. "τε is my emendation; the MSS have δε “.

secl. = seclusit= "has bracketed" as interpolated or out of place.   "Secludereis normally used for text that is regarded as genuine but has somehow landed inthe wrong place: it will be found frequently in the apparatus of a text whichwe know was left unfinished by the author, e.g. Lucretius's de rerum natura. Delere is normally used for text that is regarded as spurious"(thus Mark Possanza in his review of Scribes and Scholars,BMCRfor 02.07.06.)

sim. = similia= similar (words); see "vel sim."

s.l. = supralineam = above the line (in effect, means the same as "s.s.")

sq. = sequens(pl. sequentia) = following; e.g. (a note by Snell, referring to a blankspace in line 3 of a papyrus): "3 sq. fort. ς" = "the followingletter perhaps is ς."

s.s. = sscr. = suprascr.= suprascriptum (pl. suprascripta) = this word (or words) writtenabove the line.

stat. = statuit (pl.statuerunt)= "fixed / set up / ordained", usually of alacuna, cf. "indic." above

subscr. = subscriptum(pl. subscripta) = this word (or words) is written below the line.

sup. = supra= above, or superior.

suppl. = supplevit(or supplet) = "completed", i.e. by restoring; i.e.supplied.   E.g. in my text I print in diamond brackets a word that the MSSomitted, e.g. "<τε>", and myapparatus says "τε   suppl. Wil."= "Wilamowitz supplied τε".

suprascr. -- see"s.s."

susp. = suspicatusest = "suspected" or "doubted" the authenticity of areading or passage

s.v. = subvoce = under the word or heading; e.g "τε Suda s.v. Ἀρχέλαος",i.e. the Suda (a Byzantine encyclopedia) has τε where it quotes this passage inits entry for Archelaos.

tent. = tentavit= (lit.) "attempted", tried.   "tent." marks aconjecture that   could be right, but is very uncertain.

trai. = traiecit (pl.traiecerunt) = "transferred" a passage or phrase toanother, specified location in the text

transp. | transt.= transposuit|transtulit = "transposed", changed the wordorder or line order.

trib. = tribuit (pl.tribuerunt) = "attributed / ascribed / assigned" to anauthor or interpolator, or to a character in a drama.

tum ="then", usually introducing a reading that it seems right to adopt ifwe also adopt a reading mentioned previously.

v. (pl. vv.)= versus = verse(s).   Often used not for "verse" in oursense but just for a "line" of writing.

vel = or.

vel sim. = vel simile(pl. uel similia or -es) = "or some similarword(s)"; "or some similar conjecture(s)" (often applied to mereconjectures that are plainly not worth much).

vett. = veteres(codices | editores | editiones) = old (MSS | editors |editions)   (See above under "edd.")

vd. = vide= "see" (imperative).

vid. = videtur= seems; usually in the form "ut vid." = as it seems; apparently.

v.l. (pl. vv.ll.)= varia lectio (variae lectiones) = variant reading(s) in the MSS. Usually they are rather unimpressive variants that look like mere conjectures,perhaps ancient, perhaps Italian renaissance.   (There is a differencebetween this and "γρ.". On that see"γρ.").

vit. = vita =life, referring to an ancient biography; e.g. "vit. Thuc. 3"referring to the third paragraph of the ancient life of Thucydides.

vox (pl.voces) = word(s).   (In classical Latin, this is the normal word for"word".)

vulg. = vulgo= commonly.   Often refers to the corrupt, and much contaminated, 'vulgate'text of the rennaissance.

X sometimes =Σ.

:   colonin the apparatus separates different variants and / or conjectures

]   singlesquare bracket in the apparatus separates the reading printed in the text(= usually that given by most MSS) from the variants and conjectures.   Forexamples, see under "e or ex" and "emend."

~   The 'swung dash' is used by some editors (e.g. Barrett, Diggle) to mean 'butnot', e.g. "nonne] non A (~A^c)" = the text of A has theincorrect non, but a corrector wrote nonne

S I G NS   I N   T H E   T E X T   I T S E L F

[...] Square brackets, or in recent editions wavy brackets "{...}",enclose words etc. that an editor thinks should be deleted (see"del.") or marked as out of place (see "secl.").

[...]   Square brackets in a papyrus text, or in an inscription, encloseplaces where words have been lost through physical damage.   If thishappens in mid-line, editors use "[...]".   If only the end ofthe line is missing, they use a single bracket "[..."   Ifthe line's beginning is missing, they use "...]"   Within thebrackets, often each dot represents one missing letter.

[[...]] Doublebrackets enclose letters or words deleted by the medieval copyist himself.

(...) Roundbrackets are used to supplement words abbreviated by the original copyist; e.g.in an inscription: "trib(unus) mil(itum) leg(ionis) III"

<...> diamond( = elbow = angular) brackets enclose words etc. that an editor has added(see "suppl.")

†   Anobelus (pl. obeli) means that the word(s etc.) is very plainlycorrrupt, but the editor cannot see how to emend.   If only one word iscorrupt, there is only one obelus, which precedes the word; if two or morewords are corrupt, two obeli enclose them.   (Such at least is therule--but that rule is often broken, especially in older editions, whichsometimes dagger several words using only one obelus.)   To dagger words inthis way is to "obelize" them.

A dot under aletter (used for papyrus texts, inscriptions) means that   an "a",for example, seems to be an "a", but the traces are very faintand it could conceivably be some other letter.

POSTSCRIPT: Why even today is an apparatus usuallywritten in Latin?   Mainly for brevity.   Latin can be made morelaconic than any modern language; and over the centuries the abbreviations haveevolved into a sort of short-hand, extremely clear yet of great subtlety.

But why should one ever look at the apparatus?   Ihave known full professors at "major research institutions" who neverdid, and even in hard places seemed hostile to all speculations about thetext.   But even the soundest classical text, e.g. that of Vergil, ispartly a construction by modern editors, who are not infallible (onVergil see e.g. Edward Courtney, "The Formation of the Text ofVergil", BICS 28, 1981, p. 13-29); and the worst texts, e.g. thatof Propertius, are often so corrupt that in a given place each particular MShas only gibberish. In such a case modern editors can construct a tentativetext only because each MS seems to retain different scraps of the truth. For an especially good, long, grippingly interesting analysis of a bad text,see J. L. Butrica, "Editing Propertius", CQ, n.s. 47, 1997, p.176-208.