Literal Meaning
Other things of that type.
Explanation & Origin
Et cetera , abbreviated to etc., etc, &c., or &c, is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean “and other similar things”, or “and so forth”. Translated literally from Latin, et means ‘and’, while cētera means ‘the rest’; thus the expression means ‘and the rest (of such things)’. It is a calque of the Koine Greek καὶ τὰ ἕτερα kai ta hetera, ‘and the other things’.
In the 1956 film The King and I , Yul Brynner repeatedly used the expression “…et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…” in his portrayal of King Mongkut of Siam, to characterize the king as wanting to impress everyone with his breadth of great knowledge and the importance of one with no need to expound. This reflected the usage in the novel, Anna and the King of Siam , which expressed that king’s playful understanding of innumerable things with the phrase, “&c., &c.”
A number of unspecified additional persons or things.
It also means and the rest; and others; and so forth: used at the end of a list to indicate that other items of the same class or type should be considered or included.
Illustration
Another definition is someone who grew up in the ghetto, and when they became wealthy, used the money on frivolous things like cars, clothes, and jewelry instead of wealth-building items like real estate, stocks, and et cetera.
Case Reference
The Government Of Kerala vs Varkey Chakkalayil [AIR 1969 Ker 191]
This case held that the claimant in OA 6/2013 owns 1.18 acres of land. All the lands referred to above lie contiguously and are comprised in resurvey No.15/1 of Kodenchery village in Kozhikode district. Every land was brought under cultivation before 2.6.2000. Bit-I in OA 4/2013 contains 3400 areca trees, 200 coconut trees and 700 vanilla plants besides cashew trees, MFA Nos 106,110 and 118 of 2014 jackfruit trees et cetera.
Ganesh Prasad And Anr. vs Ram Shankar Lal Baldeo Das And Others [(1907) ILR 29 All 385]
In this case it was held that Lord Langdale, M.R., described it as being “the most comprehensive of all terms which can be used inasmuch as it is indicative and descriptive of every possible interest which a party can have”–(Jones v. Skinner (1835) 5 L.J., Ch., 90. In the General Clauses Acts, I of 1868 and X of 1897, ‘immovable property’ is defined as including ‘benefits arising out of land’ et cetera.,
Bijoy Kumar Routrai And Others vs State Of Orissa And Others [13th March 2014]
In this case it was held that the petitioners have made different allegations on questions of fact, such as the quantity of land possessed, the nature of such land, the quantum of levy demanded et cetera to which we shall advert at the appropriate place.
Edited by Vigneshwar Ramasubramania
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
