sv

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The abbreviation s. v. stands for Latin sub voce "under the expression", less often sub verbo "under the word". The plural forms are s. vv. and sub vocibus or sub verbis . The abbreviation appears in references in scientific and historical texts and refers to a keyword in an alphabetically arranged reference work .

It has been common since the 16th century and is used to

  •  Find the quoted passage faster on a large, tightly printed page - for example a dictionary in folio format - faster;
  • Avoid page numbers so that different editions of a reference work can be used;
  • to state precisely the keyword under which the quotation appears; this clarifies the context of the quotation without having to consult the reference work.

Citation styles

Quote with s. v. is also common today in specialist dictionaries. Follows s. v. just a letter with a point, the keyword you are looking for emerges from the immediate context. For example, under the keyword Teufel in the New Pauly (published 2002) there is the following reference:

"A. Wishes, s. v. T., in: Realencyklopädie für Protestant. Theology and Church 19, ³1907, 564–574 “

According to s. v. no comma set, for example in the Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi , s. v. Teufel (published 1995):

"WANDER IV, 1088 s. v. Devil."

Problems

With a s.-v.-reference, but without a page reference, it can be difficult to find a lemma if letters with diacritical marks , ligatures or letter combinations appear or have occurred in their own place in the alphabet . For German readers, for example, Danish and Norwegian Æ Ø Å to Z, Dutch IJ as Y, SCH as a separate letter in German or CH to H in Slovak and after C in Spanish are problematic for German readers .

S.-v. references to lemmas in non-Latin scripts (e.g. Greek , Cyrillic ) should be avoided or given a page number, unless they are aimed at readers who have mastered the alphabets of such scripts.

literature

  • Adriano Cappelli : Dizionario di Abbreviature latine ed italiane . 6th edition Modena 1929, reprint Milan 1973, p. v. Sv.
  • Karl E. Demandt : Laterculus notarum . 2nd edition Marburg 1974, s. vs v.