exempli gratia

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin exemplī grātiā.

Prepositional phrase

exempli gratia

1. For the sake of an example.

   Synonym: e.g.

   • 1869, Richard F[rancis] Burton, Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil; with a Full Account of the Gold and Diamond Mines. Also, Canoeing Down 1500 miles of the Great River São Francisco, from Sabará to the Sea., volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], page 172:

     Exempli gratiâ, the venerable London Stone of many fables.

   • 1886, A. P. Stone, editor, The Law Reports. […] Appeal Cases before the House of Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Also Peerage Cases., volume XI, London: […] for the Council of Law Reporting by William Clowes and Sons, Limited, […], page 324:

     Even if the respondents had been liable for their administration to the same extent as private trustees, I should still have thought that it was not only within the competency, but that it was the duty of the Court, before pronouncing any decree, to consider how far the respondents might be entitled to recoup themselves, by taking, exempli gratia, the furniture of the school, or by accumulating the future income of these bequests, and what effect their so doing might have upon the efficient maintenance of the school.

   • 1917 March–April, Alfredo Taglialatela, “The Church of Rome and Morality”, in William V. Kelley, editor, The Methodist Review, volume XCIX, number 2 (whole 544) / fifth series, volume XXXIII, number 2, New York, N.Y., Cincinnati, Oh.: The Methodist Book Concern, page 213:

     See, exempli gratia, the encyclical of Leo XIII on the occasion of the third centennial of the Blessed Canisius, who organized, with Emperor Ferdinand, the first merciless repression of the Reformation in Austria.

   • 1967, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik [Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy], page 78:

     There is not enough for certainty, but I set out below a possible scheme, exempli gratia.

Usage notes

Usually italicized.

References

• Peter Archer, Linda Archer (2012) “exempli gratia (Latin) (eks-EMP-lee GRAH-tee-ah) (prepositional phrase)”, in 500 Foreign Words & Phrases You Should Know to Sound Smart: Terms to Demonstrate Your Savoir Faire, Chutzpah, and Bravado, Adams Media, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN.
• “exempli gratia”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “exempli gratia”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “exempli gratia”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “exempli gratia”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Latin

Alternative forms

• (abbreviations): ex. gr., e. g.
• (abbreviations, by justification): e.g.

Etymology

See exemplum and grātia

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ekˈsem.pliː ˈɡraː.ti.aː/, [ɛkˈs̠ɛmplʲiː ˈɡräːt̪iäː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ekˈsem.pli ˈɡrat.t͡si.a/, [eɡˈzɛmpli ˈɡrät̪ː͡s̪iä]

Adverb

exemplī grātiā (not comparable)

1. for the sake of an example, e.g., for example, for instance; used in introducing an example or non-exhaustive list of examples.
   • 1644, Renatus Cartesius, Principia philosophiae:

     Adeo ut uidentes, exempli gratia, colorem, putauerimus nos uidere rem quandam extra nos positam, et plane similem ideae illi coloris, quam in nobis tunc experiebamur; idque ob consuetudinem ita iudicandi, tam clare et distincte uidere nobis uidebamur, ut pro certo et indubitato haberemus.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)