Who has the theme song from Rocky in their head? Me? Maybe. Or maybe you’re thinking about the dual-tone sound effects of Law & Order.
Wherever your mind may go with this question—as long as we’re not thinking about “verses” from Shakespeare or Tupac Shakur, which are a part of another conversation—these are the details you need to know.
How do you punctuate the abbreviation of “versus”?
Well, like so many things, it depends on where in the world you are when you’re asking the question.
American English likes our punctuation. Period. (See what I did there?)
British English is more subtle. Much like in the punctuation standards of titles ahead of a name (e.g., “Mr” or “Ms” or “Dr”), British English does not always use the period after the abbreviation. In fact, they commonly skip it, especially when the final letter(s) of the abbreviation match the final letter(s) of the full word.
Thus, in the U.S., you’ll find Phillies vs. Nats or perhaps Man v. Backyard Squirrel, and in the U.K., you’ll find Violet Beauregarde vs Veruca Salt, as examples.
Of course, if my introduction of “v.” makes you pause, yes, it is often pronounced as “vee,” and it is most commonly used in U.S. legal disputes, as in:
- Brown v. The Board of Education
- Roe v. Wade
- The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes
Interestingly, the earliest English language record of the word “versus” comes from a legal document back in 1447. Did you know there were legal cases this far back in history? Of course there were. John Husset versus John Notte might not have set a legal precedent that lingers into the present day; however, it does set a linguistic precedent.
(And I can’t end the subject of this old legal case without noting its introduction, which captures the language and spelling of the day: “Also the jugement by twene … John Husset versus John Notte.” Did you catch that? “The jugement by twene”? The judgement between. Words evolve (as do we all), and digging into these transformations is fascinating, no?)
By 1873, the use of “versus” had shifted out of the legal realm. For example, the philosopher Herbert Spencer wrote of “The old battle-ground of free will versus necessity.” When this shift occurred exactly, I haven’t yet been able to put my finger on, but stay tuned.
The versatility of versus and its punctuation may not make you inclined to write verses, but knowing how to punctuate the abbreviation of “versus”—or should we say “abbreviations,” plural?—is helpful indeed. (And yes, both “versatile” and “versus” do stem from a common Latin root, while “verses” comes from a different Latin direction.)
Happy writing, folks.
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