How to shorten "look at"? [closed]

Solution 1:

In the past, the abbreviation cf was used in texts. It's short for Latin confer, meaning 'compare'. You could still use it, but not everyone will understand it. Probably the best answer now is simply See.

Solution 2:

Probably the best way of shortening Look at is to use see.

See ELU Stack

See is idiomatic; look at is not generally used to direct people's attention to other resources in this way. Look at is used in speech ("Look at that!"), and it's interesting that see usually appears in writing.

[Note too that e.g. does not mean "example given"; it means exempli gratia, "for the sake of example".]

Solution 3:

The latinate abbreviation (corresponding to "e.g." for exempli gratia) is "q.v." for quod vide = "which see", to direct someone elsewhere for further information. If it's an abbreviation you want, that's the perfect fit.

As other answers point out, however, "see" is even shorter, and provides more clarity. While "q.v." is common enough in some academic writing, it's not exactly common parlance.

My own sense is that "cf." should not be used here (even though it is in the "accepted" answer): it has a real meaning, and that meaning is "compare". From the question, that isn't the intended meaning. It is properly used in situations to contrast one thing with another (see also the advice from the the APA blog on the use of "cf.").

Solution 4:

So, you want to say for example

look at my new website!

?

You can also just say

See my new website.

if you want to shorten it.