Postscript

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For other uses, see Postscript (disambiguation).

A postscript, abbreviated P.S., is writing added after the main body of a letter (or other body of writing). The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, an expression meaning "after writing"^[1]^[2] (which may be interpreted either in the sense of "that which comes after the writing", or in the sense of "the writing which comes afterwards").

A postscript may be a sentence, a paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added, often hastily and incidentally, after the signature of a letter or (sometimes) the main body of an essay or book. In a book or essay, a more carefully-composed addition (e.g., for a second edition) is called an afterword. An afterword, not usually called a postscript, is written in response to critical remarks on the first edition. The word has, poetically, been used to refer to any sort of addendum to some main work, even if not attached to a main work, as in Søren Kierkegaard's book titled Concluding Unscientific Postscript.

[edit] Usage

The Oxford English Dictionary lists PS both with and without full stops (PS and P.S.).

A "P.S.S." (post-subscript) or "P.P.S." (post-postscript) is sometimes used to allow the letter writer to add even more thoughts after the first postscript. To continue, a third postscript would be a P.P.P.S. and so on.

[edit] In popular culture

"P.S. I Love You" is the title of at least three popular songs, one by Rosemary Clooney, one by The Beatles, and one by The All-American Rejects.
"P.S. I Love You: An Intimate Portrait of Peter Sellers" is the title of a book by Michael Sellers, the performer's son.
"P.S. I Love You" (2007) is a romance movie based on a novel by Cecelia Ahern.