English
brachygraphy
Brachygraphy comes from French brachygraphie, from Ancient Greek βραχύς ‘short’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-1‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰus2‘short, brief’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*brəkʰús2reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβραχύς3brakhús‘short’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbrachygraphie3
- Englishtodaybrachygraphy3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βραχύς
- 3 Wiktionary, English brachygraphy
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰusWiktionary, Ancient Greek βραχύς‘short, brief’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*brəkʰúsWiktionary, Ancient Greek βραχύςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβραχύςWiktionary, English brachygraphybrakhús‘short’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbrachygraphieWiktionary, English brachygraphy
- EnglishtodaybrachygraphyWiktionary, English brachygraphy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- ‘short’
through Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus ‘short, brief’
brief, merry, brevity, abbreviate, brassard, 31 more
through Proto-Hellenic *brəkʰús
Today it means
noun A system of writing using abbreviations or special characters; shorthand.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “brachygraphy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus, Ancient Greek βραχύς. 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- / brachygraphy