Preface
ABBR, Abbreviations for Scientific and Engineering Terms, is a comprehensive glossary that lists over 7000 technical terms and their abbreviations. Also known as CSA Standard Z85-1983, ABBR offers you, the user, the convenience of a glossary coupled with the integrity and credibility of consensus information.
ABBR was developed by the Technical Committee of Abbreviations for Scientific and Engineering Terms. This volunteer committee is drawn from all interest groups from across Canada. When completed, it was reviewed and formally approved for publication by the Standards Steering Committee on Abbreviations, Definitions, Symbols and Metric Practice.
ABBR is a valuable reference tool for anyone who uses or must be familiar with technical abbreviations. It will be particularly useful to engineers and scientists, draftsmen, specifications and technical writers, and information specialists.
Terms, abbreviations, and symbols are listed alphabetically. Guidelines for correct use of abbreviations are given in the introduction. If you have abbreviations that you feel should be included in a future edition of this glossary, write to ABBR, Canadian Standards Association, 178 Rexdale Boulveard, Rexdale (Toronto), Ontario M9W 1R3.
Scope
This Standard establishes abbreviations for words and word combinations for use on drawing and in engineering and scientific writing. The purpose is not to promote the use of abbreviations but to establish standard abbreviations to be used when abbreviations are necessary. This Standard also includes commonly used SI units. (See the Bibliography for a list of related standards.)
Functional designations, graphic symbols, letter combinations, data elements, mathematical symbols, quantity symbols, and reference designations, because they are not considered abbreviations, are with few exceptions excluded from this Standard. Also excluded are abbreviations for such categories as organizations, agencies, and computer languages. Symbols for chemical elements appear in Clause 10.
