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From: mike@turing.unm.edu (Michael I. Bushnell)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: What does "which see" mean in documentation?
Message-ID: <598@unmvax.UNM.EDU>
Date: Mon, 13-Jul-87 17:19:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: unmvax.598
Posted: Mon Jul 13 17:19:49 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Jul-87 00:36:32 EDT
References: <932@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Sender: news@unmvax.UNM.EDU
Reply-To: mike@turing.UUCP (Michael I. Bushnell)
Distribution: world
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Lines: 34

In article <932@ttidca.TTI.COM> spencer@.UUCP (David Spencer) writes:
>
>
>write-char:
>Output character CHAR to stream STREAM.
>STREAM defaults to the value of standard-output (which see).
>                                                 ^^^^^^^^^
>
>	What does "which see" mean?  I think I've seen it several
>	other places too.


This comes from the Latin abbreviation `viz.'  `Viz.' comes from the
verb `to see.'  But actually, only the `vi' comes from there.  It
seems that the e-t ligature (`et' for `and') was used as an
abbreviation mark, much as we use period.  The e-t ligature looks much
like (no coincidence here) `&.'  But early on, the `z' was used
because it also looked much like the ligature.  So, `viz' == `vi&' ==
`vi.', but, when the new standard arose of using periods, everyone was
used to `viz.'  Now we put the `z' and the `.', which is a rather
repetative (sp?) usage.  Oh yeah...what does it mean?  It means `which
see,' or, in more common parlance, `see also.'  For more on
abbreviations and lots of neat Latin/Roman history, etc., viz. "A B C
EtCetera."  You can probably find it in your library.


					Michael I. Bushnell
					a/k/a Bach II
					mike@turing.UNM.EDU
---
On the other hand, life can be an endless parade of TRANSSEXUAL
 QUILTING BEES aboard a cruise ship to DISNEYWORLD
 if only we let it!!
				-- Zippy the Pinhead