Abbreviate

Either from Middle English abbreviaten, from Latin abbreviÄtus, perfect passive participle of abbreviÅ ("to shorten"), formed from ad + breviÅ ("shorten"), from brevis ("short") or Back-formation from {{3}}

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Full definition of abbreviate

(obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details. Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century.

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unknown date Francis Bacon:It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off.

(obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner. Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.
(transitive) To make shorter; to shorten; to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned. First attested from around (1350 to 1470).
(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.
(transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

From Late Latin abbreviÄtus, perfect passive participle of abbreviÅ ("abbreviate").

(obsolete) Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century

1892, J. J. Earle, The philology of the English tongue, The abbreviate form has never been able to recover that shock.

(biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. First attested in the mid 19^th century.

(plural abbreviates)