ABBREVIATE

abbreviate

(verb) shorten; “Abbreviate ‘New York’ and write ‘NY’”

abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce

(verb) reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; “The manuscript must be shortened”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Verb

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

(obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century.]

(obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner. [Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.]

(transitive) To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

(transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]

(transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Synonyms

• abridge

• compress

• condense

• contract

• curtail

• epitomize

• reduce

• shorten

Antonyms

• amplify

• dilate

• elongate

• enlarge

• expand

• expatiate

• extend

• lengthen

• produce

• prolong

• stretch

Etymology 2

Adjective

abbreviate (comparative more abbreviate, superlative most abbreviate)

(obsolete) Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century]

(biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

Noun

abbreviate (plural abbreviates)

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

Source: Wiktionary

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Ab*bre"vi*ate, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Abbreviated; p.pr. & vb.n. Abbreviating.] Etym: [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.)

Definition: To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Ab*bre"vi*ate, a. Etym: [L. abbreviatus, p.p.]

1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] "The abbreviate form." Earle.

2. (Biol.)

Definition: Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.

Ab*bre"vi*ate, n.

Definition: An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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