- brevity
- \ \ see BRIEF
Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
brevity
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Brevity — Brev i*ty, n.; pl. {Brevities}. [L. brevitas, fr. brevis short: cf. F. bri[ e]vit[ e]. See {Brief}.] 1. Shortness of duration; briefness of time; as, the brevity of human life. [1913 Webster] 2. Contraction into few words; conciseness. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
brevity — ► NOUN 1) concise and exact use of words. 2) shortness of time. ● brevity is the soul of wit Cf. ↑brevity is the soul of wit ORIGIN Latin brevitas, from brevis brief … English terms dictionary
brevity — c.1500, from L. brevitatem (nom. brevitas) shortness in space or time, from brevis short (see BRIEF (Cf. brief)) … Etymology dictionary
brevity — [n] shortness, briefness conciseness, concision, condensation, crispness, curtness, economy, ephemerality, impermanence, pithiness, pointedness, succinctness, terseness, transience, transitoriness; concepts 730,804 Ant. lengthiness, longevity,… … New thesaurus
brevity — [brev′ə tē] n. [L brevitas < brevis, BRIEF] 1. the quality of being brief; shortness of time 2. the quality of being concise; terseness … English World dictionary
Brevity — Infobox Comic strip caption=Cover of the second Brevity book released August 2007. title=Brevity 2 creator=Guy Rodd current= status=Current syndicate=United Media comictype=print genre=humor first=January 3 2005 last=Brevity is a single panel… … Wikipedia
brevity — /brev i tee/, n. 1. shortness of time or duration; briefness: the brevity of human life. 2. the quality of expressing much in few words; terseness: Brevity is the soul of wit. [1500 10; < AF brevite, OF brievete. See BRIEF, ITY] Syn. 2.… … Universalium
brevity — [[t]bre̱vɪti[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT: oft N of n The brevity of something is the fact that it lasts for only a short time. [FORMAL] The bonus of this homely soup is the brevity of its cooking time. 2) N UNCOUNT Brevity is the use of only a few words to … English dictionary
brevity — brev•i•ty [[t]ˈbrɛv ɪ ti[/t]] n. 1) shortness of time or duration; briefness 2) the quality of expressing much in few words • Etymology: 1500–10; < AF brevite, OF brievete. See brief, ity syn: brevity, conciseness refer to the use of few words … From formal English to slang
brevity — brev|i|ty [ˈbrevıti] n [U] formal [Date: 1400 1500; : Latin; Origin: brevitas, from brevis; BRIEF1] 1.) the quality of expressing something in very few words →↑brief ▪ Letters published in the newspaper are edited for brevity and clarity. 2.) the … Dictionary of contemporary English
brevity — brev|i|ty [ brevəti ] noun uncount FORMAL 1. ) the use of only a few words: the brevity of her letter 2. ) the fact that something only lasts for a short time: the brevity of their romance … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
