Etymograph

English

abbreviature

Abbreviature comes from Medieval Latin abbreviātūra ‘abbreviature, abbreviation’, from Latin brevis ‘short, small, little, narrow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-1‘short’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰus1‘short’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*breɣʷis1‘short, small’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbrevis1‘short, small, little, narrow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbreviō1‘to shorten, abbreviate, abridge’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEabbreviō2‘shorten, abbreviate’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500abbreviātūra2‘abbreviature, abbreviation’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1667abbreviature2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin abbrevio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English abbreviature
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor: “This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-Wiktionary, Latin abbrevio‘short’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰusWiktionary, Latin abbrevio‘short’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*breɣʷisWiktionary, Latin abbrevio‘short, small’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbrevisWiktionary, Latin abbrevio‘short, small, little, narrow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbreviōWiktionary, Latin abbrevio‘to shorten, abbreviate, abridge’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEabbreviōWiktionary, English abbreviature‘shorten, abbreviate’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500abbreviātūraWiktionary, English abbreviature‘abbreviature, abbreviation’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1667abbreviatureWiktionary, English abbreviature. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor: “This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- ‘short’

embrace, brassard, 32 more

through Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus ‘short’

brass, merry, bra, bracelet, brace, pretzel, brachial, 31 more

through Proto-Italic *breɣʷis ‘short, small’

briefly, 9 more

through Latin brevis ‘short, small, little, narrow’

brief, brevity, brevet, breve, breviary, 12 more

Today it means

noun An abridgment; a compendium; an abstract.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “abbreviature”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin abbrevio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- / abbreviature

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