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Webster 1913 Edition

Abbreviate

Ab-bre′vi-ate

(ăb-brē′vĭ-āt)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Abbreviated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Abbreviating
.]
[L.
abbreviatus
, p. p. of
abbreviare
;
ad
+
breviare
to shorten, fr.
brevis
short. See
Abridge
.]
1.
To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken.
It is one thing to
abbreviate
by contracting, another by cutting off.
Bacon.
2.
(Math.)
To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Ab-bre′vi-ate

(ăb-brē′vĭ-ā̍t)
,
Adj.
[L.
abbreviatus
, p. p.]
1.
Abbreviated; abridged; shortened.
[R.]
“The abbreviate form.”
Earle.
2.
(Biol.)
Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.

Ab-bre′vi-ate

,
Noun.
An abridgment.
[Obs.]
Elyot.

Webster 1828 Edition

Abbreviate

ABBRE'VIATE

,
Verb.
T.
[from Latin abbrevio, brevio, from brevis, short]
1.
To shorten; to make shorter by contracting the parts. [In this sense, not much used, nor often applied to material substances.]
2.
To shorten; to abridge by the omission or defalcation of a part; to reduce to a smaller compass; as to abbreviate a writing.
3.
In mathematics, to reduce fractions to the lowest terms.

Definition 2024

abbreviate

abbreviate

English

Pronunciation

Verb

abbreviate ‎(third-person singular simple present abbreviates, present participle abbreviating, simple past and past participle abbreviated)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17th century.][2]
    • 1597, Francis Bacon, Essays:
      It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off.
  2. (obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner. [Attested from the late 16th century until the early 17th century.][2]
  3. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten; to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
  4. (transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form. [First attested in the late 16th century.][2]
  5. (transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adjective

abbreviate ‎(comparative more abbreviate, superlative most abbreviate)

  1. (obsolete) Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17th century][2]
    • 1892, J. J. Earle, The philology of the English tongue:
      The abbreviate form has never been able to recover that shock.
  2. (biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][2]
Translations

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /əˈbri.vi.eɪt/

Noun

abbreviate ‎(plural abbreviates)

  1. (obsolete) An abridgment. [Mid 16th century.][2]

References

  1. ↑ 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 2
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 3

Interlingua

Adjective

abbreviate ‎(comparative plus abbreviate, superlative le plus abbreviate)

  1. Being abbreviated.

Italian

Verb

abbreviate

  1. second-person plural present of abbreviare
  2. second-person plural imperative of abbreviare

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

abbreviāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of abbreviō

Etymology

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