Short form of 'approximately,' meaning roughly or about, used to indicate an estimate rather than an exact figure. Commonly used in technical and informal writing.
Abbreviated from 'approximately,' which comes from Latin approximatus, past participle of approximare meaning 'to come near to,' from ad- 'to' and proximus 'nearest.' The abbreviation became common in the 20th century.
This humble abbreviation reflects humanity's acceptance that precision isn't always necessary or possible—sometimes 'close enough' really is good enough. In mathematics and science, approximation often reveals more useful patterns than exact figures would.
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