e.g.

• (informal): eg
• (dated): ex. gr., e. g.

A terser form of ex. gr., both abbreviating Latin exemplī grātiā (“for the sake of an example”).[1]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌiːˈdʒiː/, /fɔː(ɹ) ɪɡˈzɑːmpəl/ (See Usage notes, below)
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌiˈd͡ʒi/, /fɔɹ ɪɡˈzæmpəl/ (See Usage notes, below)
• Rhymes: -iː

e.g.

1. "for example" or "for the sake of an example": used to introduce an illustrative example or short list of examples.

   Continents (e.g. Asia) contain many large bodies of water (e.g. lakes and inland seas) and many large flowing streams of water (i.e., rivers).

   • 2000, Wilkinson, Endymion, “Geography”, in Chinese History: A New Manual‎, Rev. & enl. edition, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 135:

     Cities were not infrequently named after the era name in which they were founded (e.g., Shaoxing 紹興 in Zhejiang, after the Shaoxing era, 1131-62).

• Unlike "etc.", "e.g." is very seldom read as a full Latin phrase. Like "i.e.", it is typically read out as its English calque ("for example") or as its letters ("E-G"). It is also sometimes taught or glossed as "example given" for the benefit of English speakers.
• "E.g." and its examples are typically set off from the rest of the sentence by punctuation. In US English, "e.g." is usually followed by a comma.[2] It is not followed by a comma in other English-speaking countries.

(UK) I like sweet foods, e.g. danishes.

(US) I like sweet foods (e.g., marzipan) but brush regularly.

(US) I like sweet foods (e.g. marzipan) but brush regularly.

(rare, US) I like sweet foods — e.g., red-bean zongzi — and so prefer Shanghainese cuisine to, e.g., Cantonese.

• The example(s) following "e.g." should be illustrative, not exhaustive.[3] An exhaustive list or rephrasing uses "i.e." instead. The use of "etc." after "e.g." is typically redundant.

e.g.

1. (informal, nonstandard, proscribed) An example.

   Lemurs are an e.g. of a non-simian primate.

• GE, Ge, gE

• e. g.

e.g. (by justification)

1. exemplī grātiā ("for the sake of an example, for example")
   • 1732 (MDCCXXXII), Antonius Mayr, Theologia Scholastica, Ingolstadium, page 55, by justification:

     nam licèt e. g. fornicatio prohibita sit […] non tamen id semper fieri necesse est. e.g. aliquis corruptus pecuniâ […] & tamen obligationem e. g. restituendi damnum

   • 1821, Julius Müller, Ratio et historia odii quo foenus habitum est, pages 3 and 10, by justification:

     Interdum etiam utrumque vocabulum in usu loquendi inter se commutatur, e. g. Dig. XIII, C. 4. Liv. XXIII, 48.

     Recentiora denique iura, quibus foenus prohibitum est, e.g. ius Francogallorum, […]