It’s a familiar sight, isn't it? You’ve reached the end of an email or a letter, and just when you think you’re done, there it is: P.S. or maybe even P.P.S. It’s that little extra thought, the afterthought that often feels just as important as the main message. But have you ever stopped to wonder what these abbreviations truly mean, and where they came from?
At its heart, P.S. is a nod to Latin. It’s short for ‘post scriptum,’ which literally translates to ‘written after.’ In the days of handwritten letters, when you’d finished writing and signed your name, you might suddenly remember something crucial you’d forgotten to include. Tucking it in at the end, marked with ‘P.S.’, was the neatest way to add it without having to rewrite the whole thing. It’s a practice that’s carried over into our digital age, even though editing emails is a breeze.
Now, what about P.P.S.? This is where things get a little more layered. P.P.S. stands for ‘post post scriptum,’ meaning ‘written after, after.’ So, if you’ve already added a P.S. and then another thought strikes you, you’d use a P.P.S. It’s like adding a second layer of afterthought. And theoretically, you could keep going – P.P.P.S. and so on, for ‘post post post scriptum.’ However, in practice, you rarely see anything beyond P.P.S. Most people tend to consolidate subsequent additions under the P.P.S. umbrella, keeping things tidy.
It’s interesting to note how these conventions have evolved. While the formal Latin origin is clear, in everyday English, we often just understand P.S. as ‘postscript.’ The usage has become more fluid, especially in casual digital communication like texts or instant messages. Sometimes, the punctuation varies too – you might see P.S., PS:, p.s., or even just PS. The core idea, though, remains the same: a supplementary note added after the main body of the text.
Beyond just adding forgotten details, a P.S. can also serve as a way to emphasize a point, add a personal touch, or even inject a bit of humor. It’s a flexible tool that allows for a final flourish. So, the next time you see or use a P.S., remember its humble origins and the simple, human desire to make sure everything important is communicated.
