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et cetera

et cetera

2 3.3
Shows there are other similar items in a list
  • idiom
  • /ɛt ˈsɛtərə/
translation icon : etcétera
  • In my toolbox, I have hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, et cetera.

So that'd be luxury like watches, boats, maybe refrigerators, et cetera.

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Examples

  • Well, I generally kept various operatives observing your activities, your report cards, your medical history, your personal correspondence, et cetera.

  • They appealed to the people of the cities of Alexandria or Thebes, et cetera, of Egypt.

  • There are weird blips, lines, et cetera, this and that.

  • The theater, the, the visual arts, architecture, et cetera, and the sciences, it's what we all admire, what we want.

  • So people like MacDowell or Kazakov, et cetera, they were trying to explore that.

  • This is because of microphones, et cetera, but it also helps us to keep the numbers manageable in the room.

  • The trick lies in obliterating... just so much and no more, so that... an identification still can be made, based on... as I say, general dimensions... plus a credible sequence of events... witnesses, et cetera.

  • Grass fed beef, lamb, bison, venison and grass fed dairy, cheese, milk, yogurt, et cetera has CLA.

  • In a strange way, the press of the noughties with phone hacking, et cetera, and Sven-Göran Eriksson, with a total lack of morality, were made for each other in many ways.

  • We need to buy apples, bananas, grapes, et cetera for the fruit salad.

Synonyms

and so on
vset cetera
111 1.4

To say that a list continues with similar items

says there are more similar items rather than showing continuation
etcetera
vset cetera
22 4.1

Other things like those already mentioned

is identical in meaning but written as two words
and the like
vset cetera
11 3.5

Things or people similar to those just mentioned

limits meaning to more items in a list rather than to people
and so forth
vset cetera
10 1.7

Use it to show a list goes on with other similar things

focuses on there being more similar items rather than omitting examples
and such
vset cetera
8 5.7

Other things like the ones mentioned

focuses on listing more items rather than stressing shared type
and whatnot
vset cetera
  • Informal
6 7.7

Other similar things not mentioned

is used to say there are more similar items without naming them
all that jazz
vset cetera
  • Informal
1 7.9

Other similar things you could mention

focuses specifically on more items in a list rather than actions

How Casual

yada
  • Slang
11 9.9
and so on
111 1.4
et cetera
2 3.3

Surface Forms

et cetera main
etc. main

Morphology

et + cetera

The phrase is compositional in origin (Latin et = 'and', cetera = 'the rest'), so someone who knew the constituent meanings could derive 'and the rest'. However, the constituents are Latin not English and are not accessible to an average B1 learner, and the item behaves as a conventionalized loan/phrase in English, so its predictability for learners is only partial.

Etymology

Et cetera comes from old Latin words et, meaning 'and', and cetera, meaning 'the other things', so it gives the idea 'and the rest' in a list. That's why we use et cetera to show there are more similar items not named.