Et Al.
/ˌɛt ˈæl/noun
A phrase used after one or more names to indicate that additional people or authors are included.
Did you know?“Et al.” is not a mysterious surname: “al.” abbreviates Latin aliī, meaning “others,” while the phrase became especially common in scholarly writing and legal citations.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*al-yos
“another or other”
Classical Latin
Latin
alius
“another or other”
Classical Latin
Latin
et
“and”
Late Latin
Latin
et alii
“and other people; and the others”
Medieval Latin
Latin
et al.
“abbreviated form of et alii, et alia, or related forms”
17th Century
English
et al.
“borrowed scholarly abbreviation meaning and others”
Modern English
English
et al.
“used after a name to refer to additional authors or people”