Et Al.
Latin for 'and others' — used in citations of multi-author works.
Et al. is short for et alii (masculine), et aliae (feminine), or et alia (neuter), meaning 'and others'. In citations, it appears after a lead author's name to indicate additional co-authors who are not listed.
The threshold varies by style. APA uses et al. when a work has three or more authors after the first citation; MLA from three; Chicago typically lists up to ten before contracting. Always include et al. with a full stop after 'al', because the abbreviation is for a word, not a name.
“Watson, Crick et al., 'Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids', Nature, 1953.”
Keep reading the glossary
A citation shorthand meaning 'in the same source as the previous note'.
A citation shorthand meaning 'in the work already cited'.
A formal reference that lets a reader locate the source of a quote.
The act of naming the original speaker or writer of a quote.