e.t.
e.t. — abbreviation
1. a written abbreviation for 'et alia', used in formal or academic writing to refe
a written abbreviation for 'et alia', used in formal or academic writing to refer to additional people beyond those already named — especially when citing a work by multiple authors without listing every name.
The journal article by Rivera e.t. examines the effects of climate change on coastal farming.
abbreviation: used with author surnames before the year
Further details can be found in the 2021 report by Chen e.t.
The reference section lists works by Okafor e.t., Müller e.t., and Patel e.t.
A review of studies by Nakamura e.t. and several other research teams supports this conclusion.
- et al.
the more common abbreviation in academic writing; 'e.t.' is less frequent but interchangeable when citing people
- and others
the full English phrase; e.t. is the Latin abbreviation preferred in formal citations
用法筆記
Used almost exclusively in academic citations and bibliographies. The full form 'et alia' is common in formal legal or humanities writing, while 'e.t.' appears more often in reference lists and footnotes. Do not use e.t. to mean 'and similar things' — that meaning belongs to 'etc.' (et cetera).
常見錯誤
e.t. — noun
1. a creature from outer space; a being that does not originate from Earth — used i
a creature from outer space; a being that does not originate from Earth — used in science fiction and discussions about the possibility of alien life.
The novel imagines a world where an e.t. lands in a small town and befriends a local child.
common narrative frame: e.t. landing on Earth
No one has ever found solid proof that an e.t. has visited our planet.
The documentary interviews scientists who search for signals sent by intelligent e.t.s.
Children at the summer camp spent hours drawing pictures of e.t.s with green skin and three eyes.
The museum exhibit explores how different cultures imagine what an e.t. might look like.
- alien
much more common in everyday speech; 'alien' is the neutral term while 'e.t.' is slightly informal or nostalgic
- extraterrestrial
the full, more formal term; 'e.t.' is the shortened, casual form used in conversation and media
- space being
a descriptive phrase used to avoid sci-fi clichés
- Earthling
a human or creature from Earth, as opposed to a being from another planet
用法筆記
Often capitalised as 'E.T.' when referring specifically to the character from the 1982 film. The plural form is e.t.s (or E.T.s). This noun is countable — you can say 'one e.t.' or 'two e.t.s'.