abbreviate

  • 1Abbreviate — Ab*bre vi*ate, v. 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… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Abbreviate — Ab*bre vi*ate, a. [L. abbreviatus, p. p.] 1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] The abbreviate form. Earle. [1913 Webster] 2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3abbreviate — [v1] shorten abridge, abstract, boil down*, clip, compress, condense, contract, cut, cut back, cut down, cut off, cut out, digest, encapsulate, get to the meat*, pare, prune, put in a nutshell*, reduce, summarize, take out, trim; concepts 236,247 …

    New thesaurus

  • 4Abbreviate — Ab*bre vi*ate, n. An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 5abbreviate — index abridge (shorten), abstract (summarize), commute, condense, constrict (compress), curtail …

    Law dictionary

  • 6abbreviate — (v.) mid 15c., from L. abbreviatus, pp. of abbreviare to shorten (see ABBREVIATION (Cf. abbreviation)). Also sometimes 15c. abbrevy, from M.Fr. abrevier (14c.), from L. abbreviare. Related: Abbreviated; abbreviating …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 7abbreviate — *shorten, abridge, curtail Analogous words: reduce, *decrease, lessen: *contract, compress, shrink, condense: attenuate, extenuate (see THIN) Antonyms: elongate, lengthen Contrasted words: *extend, prolong, protract: enlarge, * …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 8abbreviate — ► VERB ▪ shorten (a word, phrase, or text). ORIGIN Latin abbreviare, from brevis short …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9abbreviate — [ə brē′vē āt΄] vt. abbreviated, abbreviating [< LL abbreviatus, pp. of abbreviare < L ad , to + breviare < brevis, BRIEF] 1. to make shorter 2. to shorten (a word or phrase) by leaving out or substituting letters SYN. SHORTEN abbreviator …

    English World dictionary

  • 10abbreviate — v. (D; tr.) to abbreviate to (Esquire can be abbreviated to Esq.) * * * [ə briːvɪeɪt] (D; tr.) to abbreviate to (Esquire can be abbreviated to Esq.) …

    Combinatory dictionary