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Origin and history of et cetera

et cetera

also etcetera, early 15c., from Latin et cetera, literally "and the others," from et "and" + neuter plural of ceterus "the other, other part, that which remains," from Proto-Italic *ke-etero‑, from *ke-, variant form of PIE root *ko-, the stem of demonstrative pronoun meaning "this" + *etero‑ "other (of two), again, a second time, again," a PIE adjective of comparison.

The common form of the abbreviation before 20c. was &c., but etc. now prevails.

also from early 15c.

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Trends of et cetera

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

plus
1570s, the oral rendering of the arithmetical sign +, also "more by a certain amount" (correlative to minus), from Latin plus "more, in greater number, more often" (comparative of multus "much"), altered (by influence of minus) from *pleos, from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill" (see
ampersand
(the et in et cetera is Latin for "and")....The symbol is based on the Latin word et "and," and comes from an old Roman system of shorthand signs (ligatures) attested...It used a different symbol, something like a reversed capital gamma, to indicate et....
Wyoming
et cetera....
jazz
Slang all that jazz "et cetera" first recorded 1939....
croquet
On sait qui a imaginé l'imprimerie, qui a découvert la vapeur, et l'on ne connaît pas l'inventeur du croquet....A moins, pourtant, qu'enfant de la nature et sorti tout entier de la main du Créateur, comme Ève de la côte d'Adam, il ne...[Jacques Boucher de Perthes, "Hommes et Choses; Alphabet des Passion et des Sensations," Paris, 1850]...
eddy
The prefix is from PIE root *eti "above, beyond" (Cognates: Latin et, Old High German et-, Gothic iþ "and, but, however")...
polka
Vous n'en êtes encore qu'au galop, vieil arriéré, et nous en sommes à la polka!..., la sublime, l'enivrante polka, dont les salons raffolent, que les femmes de la haute, les banquiéres les plus cossues et...les comtesses les plus choenosophoses étudient jour et nuit....
Saxon
c. 1200, Sexun, Saxun, "member of a people or tribe formerly living in northern Germania who invaded and settled in Britain 5c.-6c.," from Late Latin Saxonem (nominative Saxo; also source of Old French saisoigne, French Saxon, Spanish Sajon, Italian Sassone), usually found in plu
volume
late 14c., "roll of parchment containing writing; a bound book," from Old French volume "scroll, book; work, volume; girth, size" (13c.) and directly from Latin volumen (genitive voluminis) "roll (of a manuscript); coil, wreath," literally "that which is rolled," from volvere "to
plumb
early 14c., "a mass of lead hung on a string to show the vertical line" (mid-14c. as "the metal lead"), from Old French *plombe, plomee "sounding lead," and directly from Late Latin *plumba, originally plural of Latin plumbum "lead (the metal), lead ball; pipe; pencil," a word of

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