Why 'ect'?

[Marsalimay]

I find this one a real puzzle, because ect doesn't make sense. Even if you're not familiar with the Latin words you're thinking of the sound "et cetera" in your head. There's no 'ect' sound there at all.

I thought it was pronounced ecsetera, and therefore ect, for years. Not sure how I never noticed that most other people wrote etc

Yep, it's because so many people pronounce it 'eck settera' instead of 'et settera'.

@BigGee

That's because it's actually "etc". You've got the c and t the wrong way round.

There is nothing wrong with the OP’s point.

I have heard it used on the radio, too.🙄

@Janegrey333 this is a Zombie post from May.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

When some people write ect, it is because they are quoting Molesworth.

It’s because they are ignorant of the term.

Argh! September but never mind. Ah well...

I have a question - do you put a full stop after etc? I have a vague recollection from school that it needs a full stop.

*If a statement ends with “etc.” the period in the abbreviation does double duty, serving as the full stop to end the sentence. If, however, you need another mark of punctuation after an abbreviation, you can put it after the period. So: ... (The period ends the abbreviation, but the question mark ends the sentence.)

Janegrey333
"When some people write ect, it is because they are quoting Molesworth."
It’s because they are ignorant of the term.

Or because they are educated and have a sense of humour. Oh, and know the meaning of the word "some".