Videlicet is a Latin term used to provide more specific information or clarify a term in a statement. It is often abbreviated as “namely” and used in legal contexts. It should not be confused with similar abbreviations such as “ie” and “eg”.
The word “videlicet” is typically used to mean that the information that follows provides more specific information about what was provided earlier in a statement. For example, someone might use the term after referring to a particular family and then name individual members of that family to provide additional information. Similarly, the term can also be used to indicate that the information presented after it is intended to clarify the meaning of a term referred to earlier in the statement. While “videlicet” is similar to terms like id est (ie) and exempli gratia (eg), they cannot be used interchangeably.
While often used as a legal term, the word “videlicet” has much the same meaning in general usage as it does in legal contexts. It is often abbreviated in textual usages as “namely”. in this case it is followed by a dot to indicate the abbreviation. The word “videlicet” itself is a kind of contraction of two Latin words, videre licet, which means “one can see” or “one can be seen”. In common and legal usage, the word is the abbreviation “namely”. they are used as a conjunction, usually preceded by a coma, to join two clauses in which the second one expands on the first for specificity.
A simple example of a “videlicet” being used would be: “The Warrton family has gathered at table, viz. Emily, Daniel, Samantha and Cornelius.” In this example, the abbreviation is used and indicates that the names that follow are the specific names of the “Warrton” family members mentioned in the first sentence of the sentence. When read aloud, the term “namely”. it is typically replaced with a phrase such as “as follows”, “so to speak” or “that is to say”, whichever is more appropriate. “Videlicet” or its abbreviation can also be used to provide clarification such as “My topic, viz. that a species of miniature whale should be kept as pets, is yet to be disproved”, in which the following clause “namely”. clarifies the “argument” referred to in the statement.
Due to its somewhat subtle meaning, the word “videlicet” and its abbreviation could be used incorrectly. Common terms used in somewhat similar contexts are the abbreviations “ie” and “eg”. These terms all have Latin roots and have been overused in some situations, which has made their meanings somewhat difficult to distinguish. While “videlicet” and “viz.” indicates that specification is to be followed, “ie” indicates restatement of a main point or idea, while “eg” means that what follows is an example of the previous statement.
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