eC

Ec is a two-letter abbreviation that can refer to several different concepts depending on the context. It is not tied to a single, universal meaning.

In geography and internet domains, EC is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for Ecuador, and it is commonly seen in international contexts to denote the country. The country’s internet top-level domain is .ec. In some logistics and travel contexts, EC may appear as an informal shorthand for Ecuador.

Historically in European politics, EC stands for the European Community, a regional economic and political integration framework established in the mid-20th century. The EC is largely considered a predecessor of the current European Union, and the term appears in historical documents and older treaties.

In biochemistry, EC refers to the Enzyme Commission, which assigns numbers to enzymes (EC numbers) to classify their catalytic activities. An EC number like EC 1.1.1.1 uniquely identifies a specific enzyme.

In mathematics and cryptography, EC is commonly used to denote an elliptic curve, a type of algebraic curve with applications in number theory and elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC). This usage is prevalent in discussions of cryptographic algorithms and security.

In everyday usage, EC can also appear as an abbreviation for electronic commerce. The precise meaning of EC should be inferred from the surrounding text to avoid ambiguity.