brief

Pronunciation

• IPA: /briːf/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bref, borrowed from Old French bref, brief, and directly from Latin brevis (“short, low, little”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *mregh-u- (“short”),^[2][3] the source also of Greek brachýs and Avestan mərəzu- “short” and Gothic gamaúrgjan “to cut short”.^[3][4] The noun is from Late Latin breve “letter, summary”, originally in breve scrīptum “short written note”, the neuter of brevis.^[3][4][5] It is related to abbreviate, brevity and breve.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, of short duration: about 1300 in Etymonline, probably before 1300 in Barnhart, in Arthour and Merlin;^[2][3] about 1325 in the OED.^[8] The noun, a writing issued by official or legal authority, a royal letter: 1292 in the OED,^[8] the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Short in length is from the early 14th century,^[2] and taking little time to say or read, concise, from about 1380.^[8] Late Latin breve came to mean a letter, especially a papal letter less solemn than a bull.^[2][8] From this official Latin it passed into all the Germanic languages: German Brief is now the ordinary word for a letter.^[3][2] In English the letter of authority gave the legal sense, a summary of the facts of a case for a barrister (1630s, the 17th century in Hoad).^[2][7] A short written statement is from the 1560s.^[2] The verb, to put in the form of a brief, is from 1837, and to give instructions or information from 1866.^[3][2] Briefs, short underpants, were first worn in the 1930s.^[6]

Timeline

• 1292 – noun, an official letter.^[8]
• c. 1300 – adjective, of short duration.^[2]
• c. 1380 – concise.^[8]
• c. 1460 – a letter of the pope.^[8]
• 1560s – a short writing.^[2]
• 1630s – a lawyer's brief.^[2]
• 1866 – verb, to instruct.^[3][2]
• 1930s – briefs.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Lasting only a short time.
2. Using few words; concise.
3. Short in length: a brief skirt.
4. Curt or abrupt.

Noun

1. (law) A document setting out the facts and arguments of a case, or the case given to a barrister.
2. A set of instructions for a task.
3. A short statement or summary.
4. (briefs) Short, close-fitting underpants.

Verb

1. To give someone information or instructions about something.

Word family

• briefer
• briefly
• briefness
• unbrief
• briefcase
• briefless
• debrief

Related words

• brevi-
• brevity
• briefing
• abbreviate
• breve
• abridge

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press