brevityn.
/ˈbrɛvɪti/ 1. Shortness, esp. as applied to time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun]
shorthead1340
briefnessa1400
brevity1542
momentaniness1635
momentariness1648
shortlivedness1817
momentaneity1921
short-windedness1934
1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII xxvii. §99 Many sutes..cannot be tried..for breuitie of time.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxxii. sig. O3 Miserable Brevitie! more miserable vncertainety of Life!
1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xiv. 177 The deep thought of the brevity of time.
2. The being short in speech or writing; contraction into few words, conciseness, terseness.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [noun]
fastness?a1200
compendiousness1398
short speaking14..
shortness?c1450
brevity1509
briefness1530
pithiness1557
laconism1570
succinctness1609
parsimony1650
laconicism1656
nexility1656
syntomy1656
conciseness1659
closeness1712
compendiosity1727
pressness1728
abruptness1731
concision1774
laconicalness1830
compactness1841
terseness1864
Spartanhood1880
Spartanism1880
brachylogy1882–3
condensity1885
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xxx If that it were nat for cawse of breuyte I could shewe [etc.].
1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. ii. 106 I omit them for breuitie sake.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 90 Since Breuitie is the soule of wit..I will be briefe. View more context for this quotation
1606 P. Holland in tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars To Rdr. Brevitie is many times the mother of Obscuritie.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 51 Brevity is very good, When w' are, or are not understood.
1725 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. II. i. 49 On the Churne..stands Cirencester, or Cicester for brevity.
1811 S. Smith Wks. (1867) I. 208 Brevity is in writing what charity is to all other virtues.
3. Shortness in other relations. rare and forced.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > [noun] > shortness of breath
straitness1398
straitheada1400
pursivenessc1450
pursiness?c1475
shortwindiness1545
shortness of breath1577
angustness1598
angustity1599
brevity1600
breathlessness1612
short-windedness1614
dyspnoea1681
tightness1785
puffiness1813
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > shortness > [noun]
unlengthc1275
stuckness1440
shortness1774
brevity1863
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. ii. 115 I will imitate the honourable Romanes in breuitie. Poynes. He sure meanes breuity in breath, short winded. View more context for this quotation
1863 Riddles (Routledge) Why is wit like a Chinese lady's foot? Because brevity is the sole of it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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