Take the 2-minute tour ×  How are i.e. and e.g. pronounced?
share|improve this question Why do English use Latin
abbreviations anyway? In norwegian we use "dvs." as short for
"det vil si" ("that is"), and "f.eks." as short for "for
eksempel" ("for example"), and we would never pronounce it as an
abbrevation (unless you're trying to sound geeky). –  Stein G.
Strindhaug Mar 21 '11 at 11:33 @Stein: In English, it's used to
sound smart. –  endolith Apr 25 '11 at 21:57 @Stein -- Latin
abbreviations are a holdover from the period where Latin was a
standard part of the curriculum. I.e., e.g, and even etc. were
common abbreviation used by scholars for centuries. We still
invent and use abbreviations. Now we have lol and wtf. –  Jay
Elston May 22 '11 at 3:55 @Jay: Then, how to pronounce lol? loll
or laugh out loud? The latter seems very prolix. –  Xiè Jìléi
May 22 '11 at 9:44 As an exception, etc is pronounced et cetera.
–  Pitarou Dec 23 '11 at 12:09  7 Answers 7  up vote 171 down
vote accepted  i.e. stands for id e