breviate

B3R1E1V4I1A1T1E1

noun

A short account, brief statement; a summary, abridgement or precis

OriginLatin breviātum →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

breviate1

nounbreviate (plural breviates)

plural breviates

  1. A short account, brief statement; a summary, abridgement or precis
  2. A brief missive or dispatch; a note.
  3. A lawyer's brief.

breviate2

verbbreviate (third-person singular simple present breviates, present participle breviating, simple past and past participle breviated)

present singular third person breviates · participle present breviating · participle past breviated · past breviated

  1. obsoleteTo abbreviate, shorten.
  2. obsoleteTo abstract for counsel's instruction, to brief
adjectivebreviate (comparative more breviate, superlative most breviate)

comparative more breviate · superlative most breviate

  1. obsoleteAbbreviated, short.

Origin

breviate · noun

  1. Latinbreviātum
  2. Englishbreviate

First attested in 1581; borrowed from Latin breviātum, from the perfect passive participle of breviō (“shorten, abridge”), see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

breviate · verb, adjective

  1. Latinbreviātus
  2. Englishbreviate

First attested in the beginning of the 16ᵗʰ century; either borrowed from Latin breviātus, the perfect passive participle of breviō (“shorten, abridge”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)) or apheretic form of abbreviate.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

evibrate
Cite this entry
APA

breviate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breviate

MLA

“breviate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breviate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “breviate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breviate.

Source: breviate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.