Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “abbreviation” come from?

Abbreviation comes from Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abréviation, from Late Latin abbreviatio, formed from Latin ad and brevis meaning short, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus.

abbreviation (English): The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment;...

Definitions

  1. The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment;...

Ancestry of “abbreviation”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishabbreviacioun—
2Middle Frenchabréviation—
3Ecclesiastical Latinabbreviatioan abbreviation
4LatinabbrevioI shorten, abbreviate, abridge; I epitomize; I...
5Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
6Latinīn-—
7Latinîn—
8Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
9Proto-Italicenin
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →