entry
abbreviation
/əˌbriːviˈeɪʃən/A shortened form of a word or phrase
From Latin abbreviate (to shorten or make brief).
from Middle French abreviation
from Middle English abbreviacioun
Word Ancestry
from Middle French abreviation
from Middle English abbreviacioun
Imagine a medieval scribe trying to squeeze a sermon into a costly sheet of parchment: every shortened word saved money, space, and aching fingers. Latin supplied abbreviare, “to make brief,” from brevis, “short,” while the noun-making ending -ion turned that action into a thing—the act or result of shortening. The word traveled through French as abréviation and entered Middle English as abbreviacioun sometime between 1400 and 1450. At first it could mean any kind of shortening; by the 1580s, English writers were using it especially for shortened words, such as forms like “abbr.” The neat surprise is that abbreviation is itself a linguistic shortcut describing linguistic shortcuts: a long word whose history is all about making things smaller.
The Story
Imagine a medieval scribe trying to squeeze a sermon into a costly sheet of parchment: every shortened word saved money, space, and aching fingers. Latin supplied abbreviare, “to make brief,” from brevis, “short,” while the noun-making ending -ion turned that action into a thing—the act or result of shortening. The word traveled through French as abréviation and entered Middle English as abbreviacioun sometime between 1400 and 1450. At first it could mean any kind of shortening; by the 1580s, English writers were using it especially for shortened words, such as forms like “abbr.” The neat surprise is that abbreviation is itself a linguistic shortcut describing linguistic shortcuts: a long word whose history is all about making things smaller.
Kin & Kindred
From 'abbreviate'·to shorten or make brief
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ion'·action, process, or result
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia