cetera

Cetera is the neuter plural form of the Latin adjective ceterus, meaning "the other ones" or "the rest." In English usage, cetera appears almost exclusively as part of the phrase et cetera, which translates to "and the rest" and signals that a list continues with additional items of the same kind. The phrase is typically abbreviated etc. in modern writing.

Origins and usage

Et cetera dates from classical Latin and entered English in the early modern period. Variant spellings that appear in historical texts include et coetera and et cetera; today the standard form is et cetera and the abbreviation etc. is widely used across genres, from literature to technical writing. The standalone word cetera is uncommon outside the established phrase; writers generally rely on et cetera to convey continuation.

Style and guidelines

Et cetera should be used to avoid enumerating obvious or easily inferred items and to indicate a continuing series. In formal writing, it is often better to specify the items or to rephrase to avoid ambiguity. Avoid overuse, and do not rely on cetera to replace a complete, necessary portion of a list or sentence. After a colon, some style guides discourage or limit its use, and in longer lists it may be clearer to provide a few items and then summarize remaining ones with a phrase like "and so on."

Other uses

Cetera can appear as a proper noun in some contexts, most notably as the name Cetera Financial Group, a U.S.-based financial services company.

See also: Latin phrases in English, et cetera, etc.