Q. We want to know the usage of “etc.” at the END of a sentence, that is, as the last word of a sentence. Is it spelled out?
A. The expression “et cetera” is rarely used. Its abbreviation “etc.” is discouraged in formal writing; CMOS recommends that, if used, it should be confined to parenthetical material or lists and tables. There is, however, no difference between the abbreviation and the two-word Latin expression it represents, and the position in a sentence has no bearing on which is more appropriate. For the use of commas with “etc.” and some of its English equivalents, see paragraph 6.20 in the sixteenth edition of CMOS .