brief

English Online Dictionary. What means brief‎? What does brief mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English breef, breve, bref, from Old French brief, bref, from Latin brevis (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus (“short, brief”). Doublet of merry.

Pronunciation

• enPR: brēf, IPA^(key): /bɹiːf/
• Rhymes: -iːf

Adjective

brief (comparative briefer or more brief, superlative briefest or most brief)

1. Of short duration; happening quickly. [from 15th c.]
2. Concise; taking few words. [from 15th c.]
3. Occupying a small distance, area or spatial extent; short. [from 17th c.]
4. (obsolete) Rife; common; prevalent.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:ephemeral
• See also Thesaurus:concise

Derived terms

Related terms

• brevity
• brevitic

Translations

Noun

brief (plural briefs)

1. (law) A writ summoning one to answer; an official letter or mandate.
2. (law) An answer to any action.
   • 1996, Japanese Rules of Civil Procedure^[3], Article 79, Section 1:

     A written answer or any other brief shall be submitted to the court while allowing a period necessary for the opponent to make preparations with regard to the matters stated therein.

3. (law) A memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.
4. (by extension, figurative) A position of interest or advocacy.
5. (law) An attorney's legal argument in written form for submission to a court.
6. (English law) The material relevant to a case, delivered by a solicitor to the barrister who is counsel for the case.
7. (English law, slang) A barrister who is counsel for a party in a legal action.
8. A short news story or report.
9. (usually in the plural) underwear briefs.

10. (obsolete) A summary, précis or epitome; an abridgement or abstract.
11. (UK, historical) A letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a collection or charitable contribution of money in churches, for any public or private purpose.
12. (slang) A ticket of any type.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “brief”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Verb

brief (third-person singular simple present briefs, present participle briefing, simple past and past participle briefed)

1. (transitive) To summarize a recent development to some person with decision-making power.
2. (transitive, law) To write a legal argument and submit it to a court.

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

brief (comparative more brief, superlative most brief)

1. (obsolete, poetic) Briefly.
2. (obsolete, poetic) Soon; quickly.

Related terms

• briefing
• brevity

References

Further reading

• “brief”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “brief”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “brief”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• FBIer, fiber, fibre

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch brief, from Middle Dutch brief, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Latin brevis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brif/

Noun

brief (plural briewe)

1. letter (written message)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brif/
• Hyphenation: brief
• Rhymes: -if

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch brief, from Old Dutch, borrowed from Latin brevis (“short”).

Noun

brief f (plural brieven, diminutive briefje n)

1. letter (written message)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: brief
• Berbice Creole Dutch: brifu
• Negerhollands: brief, brif
• → Papiamentu: brifi (dated)
• → Sranan Tongo: brifi
  • Aukan: biifi
  • Saramaccan: biífi
  • → Kari'na: brifi

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

brief

1. inflection of briefen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

References

Fingallian

Etymology

From Middle English breef, from Old French brief, bref, from Latin brevis (“short”).

Adverb

brief

1. swift
   • 1689 James Farewell, The Irish Hudibras, or, Fingallian prince taken from the sixth book of Virgil's Æneids, and adapted to the present times. (Appendix: "Alphabetical Table" of "Fingallian Words, or Irish Phrases"):

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French brief.

Adjective

brief m (feminine singular briefve, masculine plural briefs, feminine plural briefves)

1. brief; short

Descendants

• French: bref

Old French

Alternative forms

• bref

Etymology

From Latin brevis.

Adjective

brief m (oblique and nominative feminine singular brieve)

1. brief, short in length

Declension

Derived terms

• briement

Noun

brief oblique singular, m (oblique plural briés, nominative singular briés, nominative plural brief)

1. (short) letter or statement

Descendants

• Middle French: brief
  • French: bref
• → Middle English: bref, breef, breve, brefe, breefe
  • English: brief, breve
  • Scots: brief, brieve, breef, briefe