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Webster 1913 Edition

Abridge

A-bridge′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Abridged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Abridging
.]
[OE.
abregen
, OF.
abregier
, F.
abréger
, fr. L.
abbreviare
;
ad
+
brevis
short. See
Brief
and cf.
Abbreviate
.]
1.
To make shorter; to shorten in duration; to lessen; to diminish; to curtail;
as, to
abridge
labor; to
abridge
power or rights.
“The bridegroom . . . abridged his visit.”
Smollett.
She retired herself to Sebaste, and
abridged
her train from state to necessity.
Fuller.
2.
To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense;
as, to
abridge
a history or dictionary
.
3.
To deprive; to cut off; – followed by of, and formerly by from;
as, to
abridge
one of his rights
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Abridge

ABRIDGE'

,
Verb.
T.
abridj', [G. short, or its root, from the root of break or a verb of that family.]
1.
To make shorter; to epitomize; to contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense in substance - used of writings.
Justin abridged the history of Trogus Pompeius.
2.
To lessen; to diminish; as to abridge labor; to abridge power of rights.
3.
To deprive; to cut off from; followed by of; as to abridge one of his rights, or enjoyments. to abridge from, is now obsolete or improper.
4.
In algebra, to reduce a compound quantity or equation to its more simple expression. The equation thus abridged is called a formula.

Definition 2024

abridge

abridge

English

Verb

abridge ‎(third-person singular simple present abridges, present participle abridging, simple past and past participle abridged)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To deprive; to cut off. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350)][3]
  2. (transitive, archaic, rare) To debar from. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350)][3]
  3. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten in duration or extent. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)][3]
    • (Can we date this quote?), Smollett, (Please provide the title of the work):
      The bridegroom ... abridged his visit.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Fuller, (Please provide the title of the work):
      She retired herself to Sebaste, and abridged her train from state to necessity.
  4. (transitive) To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense; as, to abridge a history or dictionary. [First attested in 1384.][4]. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)][3]
  5. (transitive) Cut short; truncate. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)][3]
  6. (transitive) To curtail. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)][3]
    He had his rights abridged by the crooked sheriff.‎

Usage notes

  • (deprive): Usually used with to or sometimes with from as, to abridge one of his rights.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ Laurence Urdang (editor), The Random House College Dictionary (Random House, 1984 [1975], ISBN 0-394-43600-8), page 5
  2. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 6
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 8
  4. ↑ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], ISBN 0550142304), page 4

Etymology

From Middle English abreggen ‎(“curtail, lessen”), abregge, abrigge,[1] from Old French abregier abreger, from Late Latin abbrevio ‎(“make brief”), from Latin ad + brēvio ‎(“shorten”).[2]

Pronunciation

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