4 ms·

Not related to the discussion, but I need to say I didn’t know I could use NB (i.e., “nota bene”) in an English conversation. Thanks

• ldiracdelta 5y ago
  Only if you spell it out. I've never seen it abbreviated in English, but I have seen it spelled out. I only wish people knew what "e.g." meant -- "exampli gratia" or "free example". Folks on HN frequently use e.g. when they mean i.e. or "id est" or "that is". When you know the Latin, it rankles you every time. However despite Latin, "data" is stuff just like "hair" in standard English. "The hair _is_ on the floor", not "The hair _are_ on the floor." And thus "the data is collected", not "the data _are_ collected". English isn't a slave to Latin, but some misuses are too egregious to be tolerated.
  • triceratops 5y ago
    > Only if you spell it out. I've never seen it abbreviated in English, but I have seen it spelled out. I've only ever seen it abbreviated. The only time I've seen it spelled out is when I looked up what it meant.
  • ValentineC 5y ago
    > I only wish people knew what "e.g." meant -- "exampli gratia" or "free example". Folks on HN frequently use e.g. when they mean i.e. or "id est" or "that is". When you know the Latin, it rankles you every time. Just like you, I substitute "e.g." whenever I want to use "for example", and "i.e." for "that is". I find the difference quite straightforward once I "get it".
  • chromatin 5y ago
    Just as a side anec-note, I’ve seen “NB” far more frequently than _nota bene_ (in fact this thread may be one of the only times ever)