different between abridge vs abridgment

English

Etymology

• From Middle English abreggen (“curtail, lessen”), abregge, abrigge, from Old French abregier abreger, from Late Latin abbrevio (“make brief”), from ad- + br?vio (“shorten”).. Doublet of abbreviate.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b??d??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??b??d??/
• Rhymes: -?d?
• Hyphenation: a?bridge

Verb

abridge (third-person singular simple present abridges, present participle abridging, simple past and past participle abridged)

1. (transitive, archaic) To deprive; to cut off. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350)]
2. (transitive, archaic, rare) To debar from. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350)]
3. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten in duration or extent. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]
   • 1639, Thomas Fuller, The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Book 2, Chapter 31, p. 85,^[1]

     She retired her self to Sebaste, and abridged her train from State to necessity.

   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, Chapter 86,^[2]

     The bridegroom, perceiving his condition, abridged the visit […]

4. (transitive) To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense[First attested in 1384.]. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]
   • 1911, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Johnson, Samuel

     It was still necessary for the man who had been formerly saluted by the highest authority as dictator of the English language to supply his wants by constant toil. He abridged his Dictionary. He proposed to bring out an edition of Shakespeare by subscription, and many subscribers sent in their names and laid down their money; but he soon found the task so little to his taste that he turned to more attractive employments.
5. (transitive) Cut short; truncate. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]
6. (transitive) To curtail. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]

Usage notes

• (deprive): Usually used with to or sometimes with from as, to abridge someone of his rights.

Derived terms

• abridged
• abridger
• abridgement

Related terms

• unabridged

Translations

References

Anagrams

• bigrade, brigade

English

Alternative forms

• abridgement

Etymology

First attested in 1494. From Middle English abrygement, from Middle French abrégement. Equivalent to abridge +? -ment.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??b??d??.mn?t/

Noun

abridgment (countable and uncountable, plural abridgments)

1. (US) The act of abridging; reduction or deprivation [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

   Synonyms: diminution, lessening, shortening

   an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses

2. (US) The state of being abridged or lessened.
3. (US) An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
4. (obsolete) That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly
5. (dated, law) Any of various brief statements of case law made before modern reporting of legal cases.
6. (law) The leaving out of certain portions of a plaintiff's demand, the writ still holding good for the remainder.

Usage notes

• In current usage this spelling is about as common as abridgement in the US, but much less common in the UK.
• Notes on near-synonyms:
  • An abridgment is made by omitting the less important parts of some larger work; as, an abridgment of a dictionary.
  • A compendium is a brief exhibition of a subject, or science, for common use; as, a compendium of American literature.
  • An epitome corresponds to a compendium, and gives briefly the most material points of a subject; as, an epitome of history.
  • An abstract is a brief statement of a thing in its main points.
  • A synopsis is a bird's-eye view of a subject, or work, in its several parts.

Synonyms

• (act of abridging): compendium, epitome, abstract, synopsis, précis

Related terms

• abridge

Translations

References

Further reading

• abridgment in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• abridgment in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• abridgment at OneLook Dictionary Search