Latin Phrases Now English Abbreviations

id est ["that is"--to clarify by definition, as in a discussion of Internet-induced-nostalgia, i.e., the preposterous popularity of an often-viewed YouTube video that calls to mind a long lost TV satire"]

exempla gratia ["for example"--to clarify by concrete example, "e.g., 'the Fish Slapping Dance'"]

et cetera ["and the rest"--to truncate a list while acknowledging other elements might be added, i.e., it is not an exclusive list, a complete list, an authoritative list, etc.]

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        But wait a minute, you are probably wondering, why do you use italics for id est, et cetera and not for i.e., or etc.?  And what happens when they occur at the beginning of a sentence.  E.g., this sentence.  Convention dictates that as long as the text is recognized by users of English as a foreign language, it must be italicized so that one does not misread it as standard English, e.g., in a sentence discussing Spanish nouns that uses the example pie ("foot") which otherwise might be understood as pie (a pastry filled with fruit [chiefly Am.] or meat [chiefly Brit.]).  Once a foreign "loan word" or phrase has been in use so long that readers no longer identify it as part of a "foreign language," italics are no longer required.  Unlike the French, English has no Académie française to dictate authorized usage, though many English speakers retain a superstitious reverence for "the dictionary."