bref French · revision 17045

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050 (brief)|origins=la brevis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bʁɛf/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bref''' (feminine brève, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural brèves)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''brief'', ''brieve'', with the nominative ''briés'', ''bref'', ''brève'' from the first half of the 13th century, prevailing in the 17th.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|brief]], [[inh|la|brevis|t=short, in space or time]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|1, 520a) The ancients already compared the Latin word with [[grc|βραχύς|tr=brakhús|t=short]], but Rey finds it hard to fit into that Indo-European family.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary dismisses as folk etymology the explanation of the interjection “bref” as an acronym of “Bon, Revenons-En aux Faits”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The noun “bref” “papal brief” comes from Late Latin “breve” “summary, letter”, the neuter of the adjective used as a noun from the 6th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) Cognate with [[it|breve]], [[pro|breu]] and [[es|breve]]; [[de|Brief]] “letter” has the same source.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Brief'' is recorded about 1050 for “of short duration”, Benoît de Sainte-Maure writes ''cuidant que brefs seit mult lor vie'' “thinking their life very short”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873) The Old French noun ''brief'' meant a letter from 1080.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective soon narrowed to time, especially for speech and writing (''brève oraison'', before 1200); the spatial sense “small” (about 1119) survives only in the archaic ''Pépin le Bref''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) ''Être bref'' “to be brief” dates from the late 15th century.^(DHLF 1992) The poets of the Pléiade gave it its sense in prosody (1549, Du Bellay), and ''une brève'' is a short syllable (1680).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''A bref'', ''de bref'' and ''en bref'' “soon” (1200–1250) died out in the 17th century, ''en bref'' “in a few words” (1403) and sentence-initial ''bref'' (late 15th century) took over.^(DHLF 1992) From Richelet (1680) the form ''brief'' was kept only in legal ''bonne et briève justice''.^(DHLF 1992) In the media a ''brève'' is a short news item, whence ''brève de comptoir'' (1987).^(DHLF 1992) The noun ''bref'', a papal letter on lesser matters than a bull, dates from 1557.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Brief'' “short”.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1080 – Noun ''brief'' “letter”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * c. 1119 – Spatial “small”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * first half of the 13th century – The form ''bref''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1403 – ''En bref'' “in a few words”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1549 – In prosody, Du Bellay.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1557 – ''Bref'', a papal brief.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1987 – ''Brève de comptoir''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|brief]], short in duration: ''un bref délai'', ''une vie brève''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Concise; curt (of a person or tone): ''soyez bref'', ''un ton bref''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(phonetics, prosody)'' Short: ''voyelle brève''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(dated)'' Short in stature: ''Pépin le Bref''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In short, in a word: ''bref, il est parti'', ''enfin, bref'', ''en bref''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A papal brief, a letter less solemn than a bull.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(feminine)'' A short syllable; a short news item.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[brièvement]]

+ * [[brièveté]]

+ * [[brevet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abréger]]

+ * [[bréviaire]]

+ * [[la|brevis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}