E.g.

Pronuctuation

• IPA: /iːdÊ’iː/
• It is sometimes pronounced as for example.

Alternative forms

• eg
• eg. (informal)
• ex. gr.

Etymology

Abbreviation of Latin exemplī grātiā ("for example"). Gratiā here is in the ablative case which is translated into the prepositional phrase "for the sake". Exempli is a genitive case noun meaning "of example". Therefore, the full phrase is "for the sake of example".

2007, John C. Traupman, The New College Latin and English Dictionary, ISBN 9780553590128.

Previously abbreviated to ex. gr.

Full definition of e.g.

Adverb

1. Literally, “for the sake of example”. Used to introduce an example or list of examples to illustrate what is being discussed.Asia is a large continent containing many large nations (e.g., China, India, and Russia).

Usage notes

The list of examples following e.g. should not be exhaustive

2002, Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words, ISBN 9781567922035. (in that case, i.e. should be used) and should not be followed by et cetera or etc. as this is a tautology. (Tautologies do have their place, but use etc. in this context with care.)

In American English a comma should follow e.g. For example:

In British English no comma should follow e.g. For example:

A punctuation mark always precedes e.g.

Noun