abridgment

plural abridgments · alternative abridgement

1. UScountableuncountableThe act of abridging; reduction or deprivationFirst known use First attested from around (1350 to 1470).

   an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses

   Synonyms: diminution, lessening, shortening, compendium, epitome, abstract, synopsis, précis

2. UScountableuncountableThe state of being abridged or lessened.
3. UScountableuncountableAn epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation.First known use First attested from around (1350 to 1470).

   The article which embodied my researches having proved somewhat too long for its purpose, an abridgment of it only was inserted in the Encyclopædia.

   1910, James George Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, volume 1, page viii

   1 more example

   When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious.

   2012 March 22, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in AV Club

4. countableobsoleteuncountableThat which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly

   What abridgment have you for this evening? What masque? what music?

   1605, Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, V-i

5. countabledateduncountablelawAny of various brief statements of case law made before modern reporting of legal cases.
6. countableuncountablelawThe leaving out of certain portions of a plaintiff's demand, the writ still holding good for the remainder.