different between curtail vs abbreviate

English

Etymology

Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k???te?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /k??te?l/
• Rhymes: -e?l

Verb

curtail (third-person singular simple present curtails, present participle curtailing, simple past and past participle curtailed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To cut short the tail of an animal

   Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.

2. (transitive) To shorten or abridge the duration of something; to truncate.

   When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.

3. (transitive, figuratively) To limit or restrict, keep in check.
   • 2018, "Israeli gov't is trying to defund +972 Magazine, report says", +972 Magazine:

Synonyms

• (animal's tail): crop, dock
• (shorten): abbreviate, shorten; See also Thesaurus:shorten
• (limit): behedge, control, limit, restrain; See also Thesaurus:curb

Derived terms

• curtailer
• curtailment

Related terms

• curt
• curtal

Translations

Noun

curtail (plural curtails)

1. (architecture) A scroll termination, as of a step, etc.

Anagrams

• trucial, urtical

English

Etymology 1

Either from Middle English abbreviaten, from Latin abbrevi?tus, perfect passive participle of abbrevi? (“to shorten”), formed from ad + brevi? (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”) or back-formation from abbreviation. Doublet of abridge.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?.?b?i?.vi.e?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Verb

abbreviate (third-person singular simple present abbreviates, present participle abbreviating, simple past and past participle abbreviated)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century.]
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner. [Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.]
3. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
4. (transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]
5. (transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Synonyms

• abridge
• compress
• condense
• contract
• curtail
• epitomize
• reduce
• shorten

Antonyms

• amplify
• dilate
• elongate
• enlarge
• expand
• expatiate
• extend
• lengthen
• produce
• prolong
• stretch

Related terms

• abbreviation
• abbreviator

Translations

Etymology 2

• From Late Latin abbrevi?tus, perfect passive participle of abbrevi? (“abbreviate”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.?t/, /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Adjective

abbreviate (comparative more abbreviate, superlative most abbreviate)

1. (obsolete) Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century]
2. (biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

Translations

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Noun

abbreviate (plural abbreviates)

1. (obsolete) An abridgment. [Mid 16^th century.]

Translations

References

Interlingua

Adjective

abbreviate (comparative plus abbreviate, superlative le plus abbreviate)

1. Being abbreviated.

Italian

Verb

abbreviate

1. second-person plural present of abbreviare
2. second-person plural imperative of abbreviare

Anagrams

• abbeverati

Latin

Verb

abbrevi?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of abbrevi?

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??bri?v??t/

Noun

abbreviate (plural abbreviates)

1. (law) an abstract, an abridgement

Usage notes

• Used in adjudication and sequestration.