Identification

• Et al. is an abbreviation for et alii, et aliae or et alia. All of them mean "and the rest" but are used in different situations. Et alii is masculine so is correctly used if everyone on the list is male or there are men and women in the group. Et aliae is feminine so should only be used when referring to a list of females. Et alia is a plural form of et aliae and et alia. It is only properly used to refer to things and not people. However, it is sometime incorrectly used as a genderless form of et alii. Using et al. eliminates the need to distinguish between these differences in the people you are listing.
  
  

Features

• Et al. is used in the same way as et cetera, but it does not mean the same thing. Et cetera is often abbreviated as "etc." with a period on the end. The difference is that etc. refers to a list of objects while et al. refers to a list of people. These Latin expressions are not interchangeable. It is inappropriate to talk about people with etc. or et cetera.
  
  

Function

• Et al. is used in published works when there are several authors. It is usually invoked when more than two people are due credit for contributing to a work. The most important authors are listed by name first. The less important authors are acknowledged with et al. The expression is also common in reference listings like footnotes and bibliographies.
  
  

Significance

• Et al. is used frequently in legal documents. It refers to a list of other parties who are affected in the same way. For example, in a lawsuit with many plaintiffs, et al. is used instead of listing them all. When there is a verdict or judgment, et al. can be used to refer to all the parties impacted by the decision.
  
  

Misconceptions

• The word "and" is sometimes incorrectly used in front of et al. Since et al. means "and the rest," the word "and" in front of it is redundant. The proper use of et al. is immediately after listing one or two names.