释义 |
brief I. \ˈbrēf\ adjective (-er/-est) Etymology: Middle English bref, breve, from Middle French brief, bref, from Latin brevis; akin to Old High German murg short, Greek brachys, Sogdian murzak 1. a. : not enduring long : markedly limited in duration < a brief interruption > < a brief speech > < one of the briefest republics in human record — Julian Dana > b. : of limited extent < down across a brief meadow — E.W.Smith > especially : short < a brief paragraph expressing a firm conviction — Margaret E. Hall > < a jacket … waist-length in back and briefer in front — Lois Long > < consisting of one brief street > 2. a. : concise, succinct < a brief summary of the day's news > < some brief remarks on the subject > b. : curt, abrupt 3. dialect, of a communicable illness : extremely common : prevalent < measles are very brief here just now > Synonyms: brief and short contrast with long. brief usually applies to duration < it was a fleeting visit, all too brief; in three short minutes he had seen them all — W.H.Davies > < a mock episode, as brief as a dream — L.P.Smith > < fair but mortal youths who paid with their lives for the brief rapture of the love of an immortal goddess — J.G.Frazer > It may suggest conciseness or even curtness < their greetings were brief. “Hi, kid”, Donald said. “Hi, boy”, said Will — Wallace Stegner > short, applying to both duration and extent, may be a close synonym for brief < short and narrow bound from morn to eventide — W.E.Gladstone > It may imply a sudden abrupt shortening or conclusion < a short but exhilarating experience of the power to control lives for good or evil > II. \ˈbrēf\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English bref, breve, from Middle French bref, brief, from Medieval Latin brevis, breve, from Late Latin, letter, summary, from Latin brevis (masculine & feminine), breve (neuter), adjective, short 1. : a formal or official letter or mandate: as a. : breve 3; especially : brieve b. dialect England : a statement of the causes of a person's poverty used as a petition : a begging letter c. : a papal letter that is less formal than a bull and is signed by the secretary of briefs and sealed with the pope's ring d. obsolete : dispatch 2 e. : a letter patent formerly issued by the English sovereign as head of the established church authorizing a collection to be made in the churches for some specified purpose 2. : a brief written item or document: as a. : a short usually concise article (as in a newspaper) < local briefs > b. : a short version : synopsis, summary < a brief of a large scholarly tome > c. obsolete : catalog, list d. : an abridgment or concise statement of a client's case made out for the instruction of counsel in a trial at law — called also trial brief e. obsolete : memorandum, invoice f. : abstract of title 3. a. : a plan or outline of an argument; especially : a formal outline with logically related headings that sets forth the main contentions with supporting statements or evidence b. or brief of argument : such a plan in behalf of a client that often has considerable detail dealing with the facts or the law and is presented to a trial or appellate court, an administrative or international tribunal, or to a legislative body c. : a case at law 4. Scotland : spell, charm 5. : short snug-fitting pants or underpants that usually have elastic at the waist and elastic or ribbing at the slant-cut leg openings and are made in a variety of styles for both men and women — usually used in plural Synonyms: see abridgment • - hold a brief for - in brief - make brief of III. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: brief (I) 1. a. : to present in brief or in the form of a brief : make a brief, abstract, or abridgment of < entered a solid, old law firm … received a salary for briefing up cases — T.W.Duncan > < brief a report > < Miss Sandoz briefed what Cook had said — C.C.Rister > < summarized northeastern Siberian archaeology and has briefed many normally unavailable sources — Wendell Oswalt > b. : to compose (a written work) in the form of a brief or abstract < a report briefed from the original notes > 2. Britain : to retain as legal counsel < brief a lawyer > 3. a. : to give final precise and informative instructions to (participants before a mission or action) b. : to indoctrinate (members of the armed forces) in service standards — compare debrief c. : to coach thoroughly in advance, imparting condensed up-to-the-minute information and explicit directions < instructed him in what to say, in other words, briefed him in the current line of propaganda — Evelyn G. Cruickshanks > < thousands of marriages … could be kept intact if young couples were properly briefed beforehand on the chief booby traps in married life — Irish Digest > d. : to give usually essential information to usually concisely < a visitor can hardly set foot inside the border before someone is briefing him on the general sequence of events — Faubion Bowers > IV. adverb Etymology: brief (I) obsolete : briefly |