English

Alternative forms

• (informal): eg
• (dated): ex. gr., e. g.

Adverb

e.g.

1. "for example" or "for the sake of an example": used to introduce an illustrative example or short list of examples.

   Continents (e.g., Asia) contain many large bodies of water (e.g., lakes and inland seas) and many large flowing streams of water (i.e., rivers).

Usage notes

• Unlike "etc.", "e.g." is very seldomly read as a full Latin phrase. Like "i.e.", it is typically read out as its English calque ("for example") or as its letters ("E-G"). It is also sometimes taught or glossed as "example given" for the benefit of English speakers.
• "E.g." and its examples are typically set off from the rest of the sentence by punctuation. In US English, it is typically followed by a comma with periods used after 'e' and 'g', while these are omitted in British English.

(UK) I like sweet foods, eg danishes.

(US) I like sweet foods (e.g., marzipan) but brush regularly.

(US) I like sweet foods — e.g., red-bean zongzi — and so prefer Shanghainese cuisine to, e.g., Cantonese.

• The example(s) following "e.g." should be illustrative, not exhaustive.^[2] An exhaustive list or rephrasing uses "i.e." instead. Since a concluding et cetera makes a list exhaustive, "etc." should never be used with "e.g."

Translations

References

1. ↑ 2007, John C. Traupman, The New College Latin and English Dictionary, ISBN 9780553590128.
2. ↑ 2002, Sir Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words, ISBN 9781567922035.

Noun

e.g.

1. (informal) misuse of the abbreviation "e.g." (exampli gratia, for example) as a pseudo-abbreviation of "example"

   Lemurs are an e.g. of a non-simian primate.

Anagrams

• Ge, gE, GE, ge

Latin

Alternative forms

• e. g.

Abbreviation

e.g. (by justification)

1. exemplī grātiā ("for the sake of an example, for example")
   • 1732 (MDCCXXXII), Antonius Mayr, Theologia Scholastica, Ingolstadium, page 55, by justification:

     nam licèt e. g. fornicatio prohibita sit […] non tamen id semper fieri necesse est. e.g. aliquis corruptus pecuniâ […] & tamen obligationem e. g. restituendi damnum

   • 1821, Julius Müller, Ratio et historia odii quo foenus habitum est, pages 3 and 10, by justification:

     Interdum etiam utrumque vocabulum in usu loquendi inter se commutatur, e. g. Dig. XIII, C. 4. Liv. XXIII, 48.

     Recentiora denique iura, quibus foenus prohibitum est, e.g. ius Francogallorum, […]