Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 6 votes)Rate this definition: et al., et al, et alii, et aliae, et alia(adverb) and others ('et al.' is used as an abbreviation of `et alii' (masculine plural) or `et aliae' (feminine plural) or `et alia' (neuter plural) when referring to a number of people)
The 17th parallel division between North and South Vietnam was the  result of a Chinese proposal at the Geneva Conference of 1954 which  ended the French war in Vietnam. Chi â¦ na did not want a strong,  unified Vietnam on its southern border and easily convinced the  great powers to go along with their proposal.
Shortly thereafter, based on the Geneva Accord, Vietnam was divided into two parts; the Communist North and the anti-Communist South. U.S. economic and military aid to South Vietnam began to grow and serious conflict was on the horizon.