Abbreviate (&unr_;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abbreviated (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Abbreviating.] [L. abbreviatus, p. p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge.] 1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken.
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It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon.
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2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
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Abbreviate, n. An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot.
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