Where does “brief” come from?

brief (Middle French) comes from Old French brief, from Latin brevis, from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus, from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- — short.

brief (Middle French): brief; short

Definitions

  1. brief; short

Ancestry of “brief”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchbriefbrief, short in length; letter or statement
2Latinbrevisshort, small, little, narrow; brief, short;...
3Proto-Italic*breɣʷis—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- →