q.v.

The abbreviation q.v. stands for the Latin quod vide, literally 'which see'. It is a cross-reference marker used inside dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and scholarly commentaries to send the reader to another entry or passage where the term just mentioned is discussed in its own right. Its plural, qq.v. (quae vide), sends the reader to more than one.

The convention places q.v. in parentheses or italics immediately after the term it points to: 'This influence traces back to Erasmus's Adagia (q.v.).' The signal tells the reader two things at once: the term has a fuller treatment elsewhere in this work, and the present passage will not attempt that treatment. It saves both writer and reader from repeating an argument that already has its address.

Older reference works used q.v. densely; modern editorial style tends to prefer plain English ('see') or a hyperlink. The Latin survives in traditional dictionaries, legal texts, and any prose that wants to sound like a reference book. Used sparingly it is elegant; used every paragraph it looks like a nervous tic.

Common mistake: using q.v. for a source that is not, in fact, entered elsewhere in the same work. The abbreviation is an internal cross-reference. To point outside the work, use 'see' followed by a normal citation.