6.1.13 @abbr{abbreviation[, meaning]}

You can use the @abbr command for general abbreviations. The abbreviation is given as the single argument in braces, as in ‘@abbr{Comput.}’. As a matter of style, or for particular abbreviations, you may prefer to omit periods, as in ‘@abbr{Mr} Stallman’.

@abbr accepts an optional second argument, intended to be used for the meaning of the abbreviation.

If the abbreviation ends with a lowercase letter and a period, and is not at the end of a sentence, and has no second argument, remember to use the @. command (see Ending a Sentence) to get the correct spacing. However, you do not have to use @. within the abbreviation itself; Texinfo automatically assumes periods within the abbreviation do not end a sentence.

In TeX and in the Info output, the first argument is printed as-is; if the second argument is present, it is printed in parentheses after the abbreviation. In HTML the <abbr> tag is used; in DocBook, the <abbrev> tag is used. For instance:

@abbr{Comput. J., Computer Journal}

produces:

Comput. J. (Computer Journal)

For abbreviations consisting of all capital letters, you may prefer to use the @acronym command instead. See the next section for more on the usage of these two commands.