Brevity
/ˈbrɛvɪti/noun
The quality of being brief or concise.
Did you know?Brevity comes from Latin *brevitas*, from *brevis* meaning “short,” and that same root also gave us words like “brief” and “abbreviate,” showing how language has long treated shortening as a kind of power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mreǵh-?
“No secure root is universally agreed for the Latin brev- family; the historical source is best traced through Latin *brevis* rather than a confidently reconstructed PIE form.”
Latin
Latin
brevis
“short, brief”
Latin
Latin
brevitas
“shortness, brevity”
Old French
Old French
brevité
“brevity, shortness”
Middle English
English
brevite
“shortness of speech or writing”
Modern English
English
brevity
“conciseness; the quality of being brief”
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