Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- An abbreviation of videlicet, usually read ‘namely.’ The z here, as in
oz ., represents a medieval symbol of contraction (a symbol also represented by a semicolon), originally a ligature for the Latin et, and (and so equivalent to the symbol &), extended to represent the termination -et and the enclitic conjunction -que, and finally used as a mere mark of abbreviation, equivalent in use to the period as now so used, viz being equivalent to vi., and not originally requiring the period after it.
Wiktionary
- adv. Alternative form of viz..
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. To wit; that is; namely.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. as follows
Examples
“Some points to ponder: There is no "O" in Arabic, viz; QUr-an not KOran, MUhammad not MOhammad, (although the Arabs gave us the Zero, not to be confused with the O.)”
Rudy Surrogate: "I Don't Subscribe To The Principle That There Are Good Muslims And Bad Muslims"
“Yglesias actually got to the point of posing a pertinent question at least, viz., is there “any kind of actual reason why Israel should continue expanding settlements,” where by “actual” I suppose he means “rational” or “reasonable.””
“Book of very ancient nocturnal _sangs_; 1 Pistel bec; 2 Ancient ræding bec; 1 for the use of the priest; also the following books in Latin, viz.,”
“Polish performs the office frequently assigned to h in English, viz., that of softening the preceding consonant without possessing any further power of its own.”
“Aurobindo while expounding on the famous Gita verse "Yada Yada hi dharmasya" viz "I Descend in every Age..." has mentioned that the purpose of the Avatar is not just to rid the world of the forces of injustice and tyranny which can be better done by the Divine's agents,such as Kings,soldiers but also to establish a new evolutionary force in this world.”
The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have already accomplished the metaphysical victory
“Congress shall have the power to enforce this article," viz: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote without denial on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
“LAWTON moved to amend the last proviso, by adding the following after the words "white person or persons," viz: "Over the age of twelve years from planting and cultivating for themselves, by their own labor, a like quantity of cotton for each hand so employed.”
Journal of the Senate of South Carolina: Being the Session of 1862.
“Tableau Software wants data junkies to do the 'viz”
“Thrilling though "viz" is, Kepes's legacy isn't confined to the creation of new types of imagery, but to fostering cross-disciplinary debate and collaboration on other issues.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘viz’.
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to acquire
moustache, thoughtcrime, lift, overall, razor, strength, oily, gin, oily gin, brotherhood, dull, toward and 108 more...
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Jane Eyre
abigail, sanguine, chancel, bourne, peremptorily, parley, unwonted, fagging, convolvuli, tarry, insuperable, execrations and 190 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3248 more...
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"Words, words, words."
abase, abject, abstruse, adjutant, altercation, altruistic, angst, anodyne, anomie, ape, apprehensive, aquiline and 310 more...
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the hotlist
short, sweet, epic, catchy, sassy, sexy & sizzling.
( personal list, randomness )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/...zing, epic, win, fail, hot, warp, times, clip, onyx, wonky, pwn, leet and 1493 more...
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Idioms
Faux pas, Fait accompli, Laissez-faire, Ménage à trois, Par excellence, Vis-à-vis, À la carte, À la mode, Au contraire, Carte blanche, Cinéma vérité, Crème de la crème and 55 more...
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Lissome Latin
apologia, sine qua non, prandial, desiderata, errata, dixi, viz, in flagrante delicto, ad nauseam, ad infinitum, aqua vitae, de profundus and 33 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for viz.
ruzuzu Oh! Oh! So, the Century offers us this wonderful tidbit: "The z here, as in oz., represents a medieval symbol of contraction (a symbol also represented by a semicolon), originally a ligature for the Latin et, and (and so equivalent to the symbol &), extended to represent the termination -et and the enclitic conjunction -que, and finally used as a mere mark of abbreviation, equivalent in use to the period as now so used, viz being equivalent to vi., and not originally requiring the period after it."
I think this would be a Tironian et. Cool!
Sep 21, 2011
milosrdenstvi I see -- and videlicet, evidently, means 'that is' or 'to wit' or 'namely'...which, I guess, is the meaning of viz. as well. May 19, 2010
reesetee Ruzuzu beat me to it. :-) May 19, 2010
ruzuzu "viz. adv. Before 1540, abbreviation of videlicet. The z represents the ordinary Medieval Latin symbol for the ending -et. Earlier (now obsolete) English forms of the abbreviation were vidz. and vidzt."
- From The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology May 18, 2010
milosrdenstvi I also love using viz.! I do so in many places, viz. literary essays, school papers, and self-referencing Wordnik comments. Anyone know what it actually stands for? May 18, 2010
larry_kunz I'm fond of viz, although it's been out of vogue in the U.S. for the last 200 years or so. But recently I began working with a programming team in India, and to my delight I discovered that they use viz, at least in written communication, as much as Jefferson or Madison ever did.
I was distressed to see "viz a viz" used in place of vis-a-vis in the examples. Ugh! May 18, 2010