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{{Short description|Latin abbreviation meaning "compare"}}
{{About|the Latin abbreviation|other uses|Cf (disambiguation){{!}}Cf}}
{{redirects|Confer|the software application|CONFER (software)|academic degree conferral|Graduation}}
{{wikt|confer}}
The abbreviation '''cf.''' (short for either [[Latin language|Latin]] {{lang|la|confer}} or {{lang|la|conferatur}}, both meaning 'compare')<ref>{{cite web|title=cf.|work=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=n.d.|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cf|access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref> is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that "cf." be used only to suggest a comparison, and the words "see" or "[[wiktionary:vide|vide]]" be used generally to point to a source of information.<ref>{{cite web|title=Latin Terms and Abbreviations|website=The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill|publisher=The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|date=n.d.|url=http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/|access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://msupress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ContagionStyleSheet.pdf |title=Chicago Manual of Style 15th Ed. Style Sheet |publisher=Michigan State University Press |at=p. 6, citing ''Chicago Manual of Style'' section 16.58 |access-date=July 7, 2016 |quote=There is a distinction between see and cf.; use cf. only to mean 'compare' or 'see, by way of comparison'. |archive-date=December 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223143748/http://msupress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ContagionStyleSheet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In [[Italian language|Italian]], the abbreviation "cfr." (''confronta'', 'confront') is more common than "cf." is.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/cf/|work=Vocabolario Treccani|title=cf.|publisher=[[Treccani]]|access-date=2024-02-02}}</ref>
==Biological use==
{{main|Open nomenclature}}
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, "{{lang|la|Barbus}} cf. {{lang|la|holotaenia}}" indicates that the specimen is in the genus ''[[Barbus]]'' and believed to be {{lang|la|[[Barbus holotaenia]]}}, but the actual species-level identification cannot be certain.<ref name="Bengtson"/>
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]].<ref name="Bengtson">{{cite web |last=Bengtson |first=Peter |title=Open Nomenclature |url=http://cdn.palass.org/publications/palaeontology/volume_31/pdf/vol31_part1_pp223-227.pdf |work=Palaeontology |access-date= March 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154620/http://cdn.palass.org/publications/palaeontology/volume_31/pdf/vol31_part1_pp223-227.pdf |archive-date= April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 "{{lang|la|Diptera: Tabanidae}}, cf. {{lang|la|Tabanus}}", the author is confident of the order and family ([[Diptera]]: [[Horse-fly|Tabanidae]]) but can only suggest the genus (''[[Tabanus]]'') and has no information favouring a particular species.<ref>{{cite web|first=Anne|last=Hartmann|url=http://www.assess-hkh.at/downloads/Field_Key_HKH_draft.pdf|title=Field Key for Selected Benthic Invertebrates from the HKH Region|version=Draft Version|date=February 2007|access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref>
==Numismatic use==
Among [[numismatist]]s (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.{{Cn|date=August 2024}}
== See also ==
* [[Aff.]]
* [[Citation signal]]
* [[List of Latin abbreviations]]
* [[Viz.]]
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|cf.}}
[[Category:Abbreviations]]
[[Category:Latin words and phrases]]