abbreviation

The story

1. Latin · derived fromad
2. Ecclesiastical Latin · derived fromabbreviātiō
3. Middle French · derived fromabreviation
4. Middle English · inherited fromabbreviacioun
5. English todayabbreviation

First attested 1400–50. From Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin ad + breviō (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, abbreviate + -ion.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• First attested around 1350 to 1470. The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.
• Late 16ᵗʰ century. A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used to represent the whole, using omission of letters, and sometimes substitution of letters, or duplication of initial letters to signify plurality, including signs such as +, =, @.
• Mid 16ᵗʰ century. The process of abbreviating.