Scribal abbreviation by "contraction" and was mostly a Christian usage for sacred words, Nomina Sacra; non-Christian sigla usage usually limited the number of letters the abbreviation comprised and omitted no intermediate letter. One practice was rendering an overused, formulaic phrase only as a siglum: DM for "Dis Manibus" ("Dedicated to the Manes"); IHS from the first three letters of "ΙΗΣΟΥΣ"; and RIP for "requiescat in pace" ("Rest in Peace") because the long-form written usage of the abbreviated phrase, by itself, was rare. According to Trabe, these abbreviations are not really meant to lighten the burden of the scribe but rather to shroud
Latin influence in English languages. Christian missionaries coming to Britain in the 6th century and 7th century brought with them Latin religious terms which entered the English language: "abbot", "altar", "apostle", "candle", "clerk", "mass", "minister", "monk", "nun", "pope", "priest", "school", "shrive". Some of these words are ultimately of Greek origin, as much of the technical language of Christianity developed from the Greek of the New Testament and the works of those Fathers of the Church who wrote in Greek. During this time, the Catholic Church had great influence on the development and expansion of the Old English language. Catholic monks mainly wrote or copied