abbreviate en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /əˈbɹi.vi.eɪt/ (General-American)
- /əˈbɹiː.vi.eɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle English abbreviaten, from abbreviat(e) (“abbreviated”, used as the participle of abbreviaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin abbreviātus, perfect passive participle of abbreviō (“to shorten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), formed from ab- + breviō (“to shorten”), from brevis (“short”). Alternatively, a back-formation from abbreviation. Doublet of abridge.
Meanings
-
(obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details.
But it is one Thing, to Abbreuiate by Contracting, Another by Cutting off: […]
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Dispatch. XXV.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, pages 142–143:
- (intransitive, obsolete) To speak or write in a brief manner.
-
(transitive) To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned.
But as delivery schedules have dwindled into hours, even the gigantic warehouse full of stuff in a central place such as the triangle is proving insufficient. Now, companies also need smaller distribution centres around the country, to respond rapidly to orders and to abbreviate the last mile as much as possible.
2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2019:
-
(transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
Alana abbreviated "involuntarily celibate" to "invcel", until someone suggested that "incel" was easier to say.
2018 August 29, Jim Taylor, “The woman who founded the 'incel' movement”, in BBC:Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is more commonly known by its abbreviated form BSE.
- (transitive) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| abbreviates | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| abbreviating | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| abbreviated | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| abbreviated | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Antonyms
produce · expatiate · enlarge · expand · prolong · elongate · stretch · extend · amplify · dilate · lengthen
Deriveds
abbreviately · abbreviatable · abbreviater · unabbreviate · unabbreviatable · abbreviative · abbreviatory · deabbreviate
Relateds
Synonyms
condense · abridge · contract · curtail · reduce · compress · epitomize · simplify · shorten
Translations (95)
de kürzen (to make shorter) · tr ihtisar etmek (to make shorter) · sv förkorta (to reduce to lower terms) · kw berrhe (to make shorter) · cy cwtogi (to make shorter) · ta சுருக்கு (to make shorter) · hi संक्षिप्तकरना (to reduce to lower terms) · be скарача́ць (to make shorter) · ro abrevia (to make shorter) · ko 단축(短縮)하다 (to make shorter) · ru сократи́ть (to make shorter) · da forkorte (to make shorter) · nrf rap'tichi (to make shorter) · bg съкраща́вам (to make shorter) · eo mallongigi (to make shorter) · nb forkorte (to make shorter) · id memendekkan (to make shorter) · ja 略称する (to make shorter) · ja 省略する (to make shorter) · cy byrhau (to make shorter) · mi whakapoto (to make shorter) · ru сокраща́ть (to make shorter) · pt abreviar (to make shorter) · pl skracać (to make shorter) · cs zkrátit (to make shorter) · cs zkracovat (to make shorter) · ga giorraigh (to make shorter) · ar إِخْتَصَرَ (to make shorter) · hy հապավել (to make shorter) · hy կրճատել (to make shorter) · be скараці́ць (to make shorter) · de kürzen (to reduce to lower terms) · ko 약(略)하다 (to make shorter) · es abreviar (to make shorter) · et lühendama (to make shorter) · scn accurzari (to reduce to lower terms) · pap haci mas corticu (to make shorter) · gd giorraich (to make shorter) · sv förkorta (to make shorter) · sq shkurtoj (to make shorter) · mk скратува (to make shorter) · cmn 缩写 (to make shorter) · ca abreviar (to make shorter) · ko 생략(省略)하다 (to make shorter) · bg съкращавам (to reduce to lower terms) · cy talfyrru (to make shorter) · la abbreviō (to make shorter) · fa مختصر کردن (to make shorter) · uk скоро́чувати (to make shorter) · io abreviar (to make shorter) · ta அடக்கு (to make shorter) · fr abréger (to make shorter) · pl skrócić (to make shorter) · chn munk-yutskat (to make shorter) · fi lyhentää (to make shorter) · ko 약생(略省)하다) (to make shorter) · nb abbreviere (to make shorter) · tr kısaltmak (to make shorter) · te సంక్షేపించు (to reduce to lower terms) · ro scurta (to make shorter) · af afkort (to make shorter) · cmn 缩略 (to make shorter) · is skammstafa (to make shorter) · gv jean ny s'girrey (to make shorter) · ja 短縮する (to make shorter) · vo brefükön (to make shorter) · ja 略す (to make shorter) · uk скороти́ти (to make shorter) · scn accurzari (to make shorter) · nl verkorten (to make shorter) · el συντομεύω (to make shorter) · id menyingkatkan (to make shorter) · id mempersingkat (to make shorter) · de abkürzen (to make shorter) · gv girree (to make shorter) · ca abreujar (to make shorter) · nl inkorten (to make shorter) · is stytta (to make shorter) · scn a-riddùciri (to reduce to lower terms) · it accorciare (to reduce to lower terms) · nl versimpelen (to reduce to lower terms) · vi rút gọn (to reduce to lower terms) · pt abreviar (to reduce to lower terms) · vi ước lược (to reduce to lower terms) · ia abbreviar (to make shorter) · scn strìnciri (to reduce to lower terms) · bg скъсявам (to make shorter) · hi लघु करना (to make shorter) · gv aagherr (to make shorter) · pt encurtar (to make shorter) · it abbreviare (to make shorter) · nl afkorten (to make shorter) · ro simplifica (to reduce to lower terms) · gv giar (to make shorter) · ja 縮める (to make shorter)