(formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 8 point
Word origin
C16: probably from Dutch, literally: breviary; so called because this type size was used for breviaries
brevier in American English
(brəˈvɪər)
noun
Printing
a size of type approximately 8-point, between minion and bourgeois
Word origin
[1590–1600; ‹ G: lit., breviary; so called from use in printing breviaries]This word is first recorded in the period 1590–1600. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: class, fixture, jolt, squeeze, volunteer