I think I just figured something out

You know how in old-time letters people signed with really flourish-y valedictions? I’ve always wondered about something: you see this a lot –

Faithfully yours, &c.

The “&c.,” with a period and no space between the ampersand and the letter c. I understood what it meant from context – “and so forth” – but never its precise meaning or origin.

Anyway, I think I’ve figured it out. The ampersand symbol is, according to Wikipedia, a ligature for the letters “et,” which is “and” in Latin. So &c. spells out “etc.,” short for “et cetera!”