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English words that end with a period?
Other than Ms. is there any word in the English language that ends with a period. Most (if not all) words that end with a period are abbreviations.
Mr. = Mister
abbr. = abbreviation
etc. = Et cetera
But in the English language:
Ms. = Ms. There is no full spelling of the word Ms. It's an abbreviation for a word that apparently doesn't exist. Are there any other English words like this?
bfalls, I understand the meaning of the word Ms. Other than Ms. I don 't know how to spell it like other abbreviated words. What I want to know is if there are any other unabbreviated words in the English language that end in a period. Your answer of I don't believe so doesn't quite answer it.
1 Answer
- bfallsLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
I don't think I agree with your starting premise. Even though Ms. didn't come into existence as an abbreviation for a word, it's a modification of Mrs. and Miss so that, like Mr., it isn't about marital status. I don't think that fact coverts it into a stand-alone word like Miss or Mister. If you have to categorize it in this way, maybe you could call it an abbreviation for both Mistress (also abbreviated Mrs.) and Miss.
And I doubt that there are any unabbreviated words in English that end with a period.
Historical footnote: The OED lists quotes from 1970 forward about the introduction of Ms. by feminists in the U.S. But to my surprise it also has two 1952 quotes from correspondence manuals in England recommending the use of Ms. as a form of address when the writer is unsure of a woman's marital status - that is, for tact rather than equal treatment of the sexes.
Source(s): Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM v. 3.1, s.v. "Ms."