Etymologically
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brief

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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
  • 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