This article is about the Latin abbreviation. For other uses, see CF.
"Confer" redirects here. For the software application, see CONFER (software). For academic degree conferral, see Graduation.
The abbreviation cf. (for Latinconfer or conferatur, both meaning 'compare')[1] is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Different style guides offer differing advice.
In Italian, the abbreviation "cfr." (confronta, 'confront') is more common than "cf."[2]
A 2010 American Psychological Association (APA) style guide states that "cf." should be "used to provide contrasting or opposing information" while "to compare like things, use 'see' or 'see also.'"[5]
Wex, the online legal dictionary created by Cornell Law School, says that "a cf. source simply offers a different yet non-contradictory claim and actual support to the claim just made should not be assumed. If the source gives a contradictory claim, a negative signal should be used."[6] As negative signals, they offer, "in order from mutually exclusive to somewhat contradictory: Contra, But see, and But cf."[7]
In biological naming conventions, cf. is commonly placed between the genus name and the species name to describe a specimen that is hard to identify because of practical difficulties, such as poor preservation. For example, "Barbus cf. holotaenia" indicates that the specimen is in the genus Barbus and believed to be Barbus holotaenia, but the actual species-level identification cannot be certain.[8]
Cf. can also be used to express a possible identity, or at least a significant resemblance, such as between a newly observed specimen and a known species or taxon.[8] Such a usage might suggest a specimen's membership of the same genus or possibly of a shared higher taxon. For example, in the note "Diptera: Tabanidae, cf. Tabanus", the author is confident of the order and family (Diptera: Tabanidae) but can only suggest the genus (Tabanus) and has no information favouring a particular species.[9]
Numismatic use
Among numismatists (coin collector-research specialists), cf. may be used in references on the paper and/or online coin identification information meaning "compare to". It is common for abbreviations of listings in trusted coin catalogues or sales from certain online auctions to be cited when identifying a particular coin. If the specimen in question is not an exact match but comes close to a known source, cf. may be used.[citation needed]
See also
Aff.– Taxonomic termPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
↑"Latin Terms and Abbreviations". The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. n.d. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
↑"Chicago Manual of Style 15th Ed. Style Sheet"(PDF). Michigan State University Press. p. 6, citing Chicago Manual of Style section 16.58. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 23, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2016. There is a distinction between see and cf.; use cf. only to mean 'compare' or 'see, by way of comparison'.
