abbreviaten.
/əˈbriːvɪət/, U.S. /əˈbriviət/ 1. Chiefly Scottish. A condensed account of something; an abridgement; a summary; an abstract. Now Scots Law: a brief notice registering a decree of adjudication (adjudication n. 3a) or a petition for the sequestration of a bankrupt.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > [noun]
abbreviationa1464
summary1509
breve1523
bridgement1523
abbreviate1531
summulary1533
breviary1547
extract1549
digest1555
brief1563
promptuary1577
abbreviature1578
institute1578
breviation1580
breviate1581
compendiary1589
symbol1594
ramass1596
compendium1608
abridgement1609
digestment1610
digestion1613
epitome1623
abridge1634
comprisal1640
comprisurea1641
syntome1641
medulla1644
multum in parvo1653
contracta1657
landscape1656
comprehension1659
sylloge1686
contraction1697
résumé1782
compend1796
sum-up1848
roundup1884
wrap-up1960
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. xxiv. sig. biiiv An abbreuiate called of the greekes & latins Epitoma.
1617 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1816) IV. 539/2 The saidis Commissionaris..sall send..a schorte abbreuiat of the cause thereoff.
1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 104 To pick and chuse out of every Creature, as it came out, the very best of it for this true Pandora and true Abbreviate of all his works.
1686 S. Moreland Let. 19 Feb. in S. Pepys Diary & Corr. (1879) VI. 153 An unfortunate and fatall accident has lately befallen me, of which I shall give you an abbreviat.
1708 J. Chamberlayne Magnæ Britanniæ Notitia (ed. 22) i. ii. xii. 117 The Speaker taking the Bill in his Hand, Reads the Abreviate or Abstract of the said Bill.
1716 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. xliv. 155 This is an abbreviate of this attempt.
1826 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 20 348/2 The public officers..keep also, in a separate book, an abbreviate of the instruments recorded.
1871 J. H. Thomson Cloud of Witnesses 557 This abbreviate cost the historian more labour than many sheets of his history, and was formed out of several hundred sheets of informations.
1904 Law Q. Rev. 20 315 The treatise closes with an abbreviate of the fundamental principles of equity.
1987 Debtors (Scotland) Act (Lexis) 15 May i. §33.9 The obtaining and extracting of a decree in the action, the registration of an abbreviate of adjudication and the completion of title to property adjudged by the decree.
2008 Court of Session Fees Amendm. Order in Sc. Statutory Instruments ccxxxvi. 25 Issue of an abbreviate in Sequestration.
2. An abbreviation of a word, phrase, or name.
ΚΠ
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Ttt3/2 Tithe..seemeth to be an abbreuiat of (tything).
1653 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. New Test. 181/2 That which is most probable is, that being a kind of cognomen here, it is an Abbreviate of μικρὸς τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, little in stature, the phrase used of Zaccheus.
1782 S. Pegge Curialia I. ii. 5 This word [sc. Coustrell] is uniformly mis-written throughout these ordinances; for it should evidently be Coustil, an abbreviate of the French word Coustillier.
1819 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia (new ed.) at M M. as an abbreviate stands for Manlius, Marcus, Martius, and Mucius.
1848 ‘E. Warwick’ Nasology viii. 190 Ver. sap. my dear lady reader, and if you don't understand the abbreviate, ask—ask—anybody, but your husband.
1866 Quiver 6 Jan. 246/1 The abbreviate of his name was ‘Bo’, and Master Bo struck me as a very independent sort of that peculiar genus—a British boy.
1908 J. A. Tregelles Hist. Hoddesdon 21 The chief dispute among experts has been as to the true meaning of the abbreviate carʾ.
2004 K. N. Pandita in M. K. Kaw Kashmir & its Peoples v. 138 Iranian and Central Asian families did not only adopt the title of ‘Sayyid’ but retained its local analogue ‘Mir’ (abbreviate of Amir) as well.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
abbreviateadj.
/əˈbriːvɪət/, U.S. /əˈbriviət/ = abbreviated adj. (in either sense). Also as past participle.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [adjective] > shortened or abbreviated
abbreviatec1425
abbreviatedc1487
breviateda1593
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > shortness > [adjective] > shortened
docked1408
abbreviatec1425
abridged?c1430
shorted1483
abbreviatedc1487
curtailed1561
curted1568
curtala1592
shortened1598
curt1665
brief1668
curtate1893
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 1 (MED) Thys Abbreuyat Tretesse.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 133 (MED) lxxti wekes be abbreuiate [L. abbreviatae] on thy people..Gabriel callede the wekes abbreuiate [L. abbreviatas], that we scholde vnderstonde..thei be schorter.
?1529 Proper Dyaloge Gentillman & Husbandman sig. B ij At saynt Edmundes bury..the famous prince duke Humfray..of his lyfe was abrevyate.
1579 S. Brinkley tr. G. Loarte Exercise Christian Life vi. f. 23 An abbreuiate and short worde, wherein it pleased him to teache vs the summe of al wisdome.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. III iii. 146 I shal give an abbreviate Idea or character of his spirit & zele for God.
1688 W. Smith Future World ii. iii. 170 Let me..draw up an abbreviate Plat and Scheme of his whole Life's wisdom and felicity.
1735 T. Sharp Reply to Protestant Flail 29 To baptize in the Name of the Lord Jesus, is an abbreviate Way of expressing Baptism in the Name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost.
1764 V. Green Surv. Worcester xix. 252 (heading) An explanation of the abbreviate legends of the coins.
1855 Index Juridicus 612 The Members of the Society of Accountants [in Edinburgh] have adopted the distinctive abbreviate letter of ‘C A’, Chartered Accountant.
1860 P. H. Gosse Romance Nat. Hist. 357 The muzzle in the latter is more abbreviate.
1905 R. Brown Hist. Accounting & Accountants ii. iii. 212 Efforts have been made in Scotland by other associations to obtain a right to use the designation or the abbreviate letters for professional purposes.
1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xiii. 215/2 Abbreviate heterocercal tails characterized the later ‘holosteans’ but have given way to the homocercal tail of the teleosts.
2004 J. A. Jackson House on Fire xv. 228 Released in an abbreviate seven-inch 45 format.., ‘Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now’ became a hit on the radio and in the dance clubs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
abbreviatev.
/əˈbriːvɪeɪt/, U.S. /əˈbriviˌeɪt/ 1.
a. transitive. To shorten (a text, speech, etc.) whilst retaining the sense and substance; to edit into a shorter form, esp. by omitting the less important passages; to condense, summarize, abridge.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > summarize or abridge [verb (transitive)]
abrevya1325
comprehendc1369
abridgec1384
shorta1390
suma1398
abbreviate?a1475
shorten1530
to cut short?1542
curtail1553
to knit up1553
to wind up1583
clip1598
epitomize1599
brief1601
contract1604
to shut up1622
decurt1631
to sum up1642
breviate1663
curtilate1665
compendize1693
epitomate1702
to gather up1782
summarize1808
scissor1829
précis1856
to cut down1857
to boil down1880
synopsize1882
essence1888
résumé1888
short copy1891
bovrilize1900
pot1927
summate1951
capsulize1958
profile1970
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 21 (MED) Bookes..whom Iustinus..did abbreuiate [L. abbreviavit].
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. sig. a.ij He nat withstandinge doth to me good for euill. with other wordes, which to abbreuiate the mater, I do passe ouer.
1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. C3 The queane abreuiated her discourse.
1649 Kingdomes Weekly Intelligencer 16–23 Jan. 1227 The high court of Justice did this day sit again concerning the triall of the King. The charge was brought in and abreviated.
1672 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter Pref. sig. A4v I have..omitted several Matters..contracted and abbreviated Others.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation I. xxxv. 354 Then followeth his Answer... Which being very long I was in some suspense about inserting it, inclining to abreviate or wave it wholly.
1778 V. Knox Ess. II. xxi. 214 As Troigus was epitomized by Justin, so Nepos was abbreviated by a writer.
1826 Christian Advocate Dec. 553/1 Did our limits permit, we should be glad to lay before our readers the whole of Mr. W.'s account of himself... But we must abbreviate a considerable part of it.
1860 Southern Literary Messenger 31 155/2 She can make a good thing out of ‘Why I Never Married’ if she will abbreviate it and abate its Miss-Nancyism.
1911 Hist. Teacher's Mag. Feb. 134/1 The text-book abbreviates the larger work; the teacher abbreviates the textbook; the pupil abbreviates the teacher.
1998 L. P. Hindsley Mystics of Engelthal iv. 57 The scribe intentionally abbreviated the text in order to tighten the reports by eliminating repetitions and facts known in general.
b. intransitive. To speak or write concisely; to be brief.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > be concise or brief [verb (intransitive)]
to be at a (also one) wordOE
to make short1556
to be brief1588
abbreviate1596
to cut short1691
to cut (also make) a long story short1732
to make short of long1883
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxiii. 302 But new Rome left, of old Rome now abreuiat we will.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 233 To abbreuiate, I do referre the desirous Reader hereof to Master Hill his booke of Husbandrie.
1712 P. Leigh Life S. Wenefride 139 Where I do not abbreviate..I will deliver what I offer, in the very Expressions of the Authentick Records.
1785 C. Reeve Progress of Romance II. ix. 6 Let me beg you to proceed, and not to abbreviate as you threaten us.
1854 H. T. Riley tr. Ingulph Chron. Abbey Croyland 160 In most cases I shall abbreviate, while in some I shall be more discursive, for the full information of my successors.
1911 Advance 4 May 9/1 As for the rest, let me abbreviate as much as possible, and answer as many questions as I may.
2009 I. Pears Stone's Fall (2010) ii. iv. 272 I abbreviate, and my memory does not recall the exact words, but that was the essence of the conversation.
2.
a. transitive. To shorten (a period of time, as the duration of something).
ΚΠ
1520 R. Whittington Uulgaria sig. B.v Ryot..abbreuiateth and shorteneth many a mannes lyfe.
?1548 D. Lindsay Tragical Death Dauid Beaton To Rdr. sig. Avjv Did not god abbreuiat and shortten the kyngdome of Amon, and gaue hym ouer into the handes of his owne seruauntes to be slayne.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. iii. xv. 172 That adventure themselues, and abbreviate their liues for the publike good.
1654 P. Heylyn Theologia Veterum ii. iv. 59 God..abbreviates the time of their tribulation out of respect unto his chosen.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. ix. 329 The morrow of All Souls..(which day is now altered to the morrow of St. Martin by the last act for abbreviating Michaelmas term).
1788 V. Knox Winter Evenings II. v. iv. 130 Many chronical distempers, which..render my existence painful, and will probably abbreviate it.
1845 Dissector July 213/2 The facilities furnished by this quiescent state, essentially aided the operator in abbreviating the time usually required in such operations.
1880 Harper's Mag. July 289/1 Such a conviction, of course, did little either to mitigate or to abbreviate his widowhood.
1921 Hosp. Managem. July 29/2 Those who would seek to make the calling of nursing attractive by lowering standards or abbreviating the period of training.
2006 A. Uhl Compl. Idiot's Guide to beating Stress iii. 34 Chronic stress appears to hasten physical deterioration and abbreviate life span.
b. transitive. To shorten the duration of (an action, process, or event).
ΚΠ
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. xii. sig. V.iiij To abbreuiate his sorowes, he confessed the acte, wherof he was innocent.
1610 J. Donne Pseudo-martyr iii. 27 That law authorizes him, vnder whose power that offender is, if he appeare penitent, to abbreuiate his punishment.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 116 King Ethelbert was at his Devotions, which he would not omit, nor abbreviate for all their Clamour.
1749 T. Lally tr. J. J. Duguet Princ. Christian Relig. iv. i. 2 (heading) Jesus Christ..abbreviates the apostle's labour.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind iii. 48 The ancient Egyptian may be seen in the sculptures abbreviating the gesture.
1889 Jrnl. Physiol. 10 104 Disqué abbreviated Maly's process by dissolving the precipitate in alcohol, then adding chloroform, acid and much water.
1902 E. Singleton tr. A. Lavignac Musical Educ. 231 The education of the voice should not be abbreviated.
1996 Nation (N.Y.) 24 June 23/1 The review process was necessarily abbreviated by the fact that the academic year was ending.
c. transitive. To shorten the phonetic quantity of (a vowel sound, syllable, etc.). Cf. shorten v. 1g.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [verb (transitive)] > lengthen or shorten
prolongc1560
shorten1589
trail1604
lengthen1667
abbreviate1668
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. i. iv. 15 The ways used by us English for lengthning and abbreviating Vowels.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 136 The Dorians abbreviate even ας in the Accusative Plural.
a1813 A. Murray Hist. European Lang. (1823) II. ii. ii. 139 The Romans..contented themselves with abbreviating the vowels.
1902 E. W. Scripture Elements Exper. Phonetics xxxiii. 492 A vowel naturally short is strongly abbreviated when followed by a long vowel.
1992 P. H. Kelley Biblical Hebrew ii. 8 Semi-vowels or half-vowels..represent full vowels that have been abbreviated for phonetical purposes.
3.
a. transitive. To shorten in linear extent; to make (a physical object) shorter. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Reprimere itinera, to abbreuiate or make the waye shorter.
1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 178/2 Abbreviate as then the bagge, because it may gentlelye, & easilye exulcerate.
1669 J. Milton Accedence To Rdr. sig. A2 The long way is much abbreviated, and the labour of understanding much more easie.
1671 J. Collins Let. 14 Dec. in I. Newton Corr. (1959) I. 5 Mr Newton hath abbreviated a sixteen feet tube to the length of a span.
1830 Reg. Pennsylvania 25 Dec. 402/1 The speed, in effect, abbreviates the distance.
1873 A. Bierce Fiend's Delight 152 The inconsolable survivor..left with the air of a dog that has had his tail abbreviated and is forced to begin life anew.
1942 L. D. Rich We took to Woods vii. 188 One stags one's pants, one's shirt sleeves, anything that needs to be abbreviated quickly, even one's hair.
1994 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) June 148/2 This time, the familiar jackets were abbreviated into bustiers.
b. transitive. To shorten (a word or phrase) so that a part, esp. the beginning, stands for the whole; (occasionally) to replace (a word) with a figure or symbol.Now the usual sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > form words [verb (transitive)] > contract or abbreviate
clip1526
curtail1553
abbreviate1598
contract1605
syncopate1605
syncopize1643
bobtaila1680
elide1831
apocopate1845
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 23 He clepeth a Calfe, Caufe: halfe, haufe: neighbour vocatur nebour; neigh abreuiated ne: this is abhominable. View more context for this quotation
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 219 Ma, is abbreviated from the word mani, which signifieth no or not.
1678 E. Ravenscroft Eng. Lawyer iv. i. 51 If you can't write true Latine, as I do, cannot you abbreviate the words, as I do, by the middle?
1742 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 3) I. 311 The Exancester of the Saxons, which was afterwards abreviated to Excester and Exeter.
1785 J. Robertson Ess. Punctuation v. 94 It is better however not to abbreviate the word Madam; or any other word, in which the abbreviation saves the trouble of writing only one or two letters.
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 166 Stereo, abbreviated from stereotype, one of the cheap-and-nasty manufactures in this country.
1880 A. Geikie Elem. Lessons Physical Geogr. (new ed.) i. iv. 27 Paris is situated two degrees, twenty minutes, and nine seconds east from Greenwich, which is abbreviated thus: 2° 20′ 9″E.
1930 Forest & Stream July 535/1 Throughout the islands the tuna is known by the Hawaiian name—‘ahipalaha’, which is commonly abbreviated to ‘ahi’.
1965 Daily Tel. 19 July 17/4 The BBC is plainly fascinated by the phenomenon of the disc jockey, now abbreviated to DJ.
2000 N. DeMille Lion's Game xlii. 448 They never abbreviate Top of State Secret, and it's always capitalized just to make sure you understand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > reduce fraction [verb (transitive)]
reduce1557
abbreviate1562
1562 H. Baker Well Sprynge Sci. ii. iii. f. 50 If you will abbreuiat 54/81, you shall vnderstande that the greatest whole number that you maye take, by the whiche you maye diuide the numerator and denominator is 27.
1678 J. Hawkins Cocker's Arithm. i. 10 Compound numbers amongst themselves are those which have a multitude of units for a common measurer, as 9 and 12 because 3 measures them exactly and abbreviates them to 3 and 4.
1796 Mathem. Dict. I. 2 To abbreviate fractions in arithmetic and algebra, is to lessen proportionally their terms, or the numerator and denominator.
1836 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 11) I. 125 Abbreviating the fraction as much as can be done, by cancelling any quantities which are common both to numerator and denominator.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1531adj.c1425
v.?a1475