Brevity

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.ti/

Origin

First attested in English in 1509; either:

• Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or
• from Anglo-Norman brevité < from Old French brieveté < from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis ("short").

Full definition of brevity

Noun

1. (uncountable) The quality of being brief in duration.
• 2005, Bill Bryson, A short history of nearly everything, Thanks to Global Positioning Systems we can see that Europe and North America are parting at about the speed a fingernail grows—roughly two yards in a human lifetime. If you were prepared to wait long enough, you could ride from Los Angeles all the way up to San Francisco. It is only the brevity of lifetimes that keeps us from appreciating the changes.
2. (uncountable) Succinctness; conciseness.
• 1966, Jackson E. Morris, Principles of scientific and technical writing, A good technical writing style will now be defined as a style possessing clarity, brevity, and variety.
3. (rare, countable) A short piece of writing.

Derived terms

• brevitic
• brevity is the soul of wit

Related terms