et al..

[boobesque]

whenever i read about an experiment it is often by mr x and mr z (et al). what is et al?

thanks

[aka estie]

et al. is Latin for "and others"

In scientific papers, they often do not list all the authors, just the first author and the details of the paper (journal, year, volume, issue, page #s).

That's why it's so nice to be the first author on a paper!

[john91]

An abbreviated form of et alia, Latin for "and others."

[Quizmonster]

It is, indeed, Latin and can be short for 'et alibi' = and elsewhere or 'et alii/aliae/alia' = and others. The three variations in the second instance refer to masculine, feminine and neuter plural people/things respectively. Most frequently, it probably stands for 'et alii' in the experiment type circumstances you describe, as the masculine plural form covers all-male and mixed-gender authorship. If all the scientists concerned were female, it would stand for 'et aliae' .

[ll_billym]

Yep Quizmonster, you've still got it.

[andy-hughes]

Hey boobeque - it's been a while! How are ya Babes?

[theprof]

Yes, aka estie et al have provided a clear definition here.

As a university professor and government advisor, I've had the privilege of being the first name on many a paper mainly because of my seniority and position in academia. I've also authored and co-authored many a textbook during my career and written chapters in other works.

Although I can't deny that it's nice to be the first author on a paper as aka estie says, it's not all a bed of roses. We all wait in trepidation for next months issue of the journal to be appear to see how many of our learned colleagues have challenged our research,opinion and conclusions in the letters columns!