bref
See also: bréf
French
Etymology
From Old French brief, from Latin brevis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bʁɛf/
audio (file)
Adjective
bref (feminine brève, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural brèves)
- brief (of short duration)
- Il lui envoya un bref message de quelques lignes seulement.
Derived terms
- dans les plus brefs délais
- en bref
Adverb
bref
- in short, in brief, briefly
- Je vous ai déjà dit que cela ne se peut, que cela ne doit pas être ; bref, je ne le veux pas.
Further reading
- “bref”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- breef, breve, brefe, breefe
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French brief, and its feminine form brieve, from Latin brevis, form Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus. Doublet of mery.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /breːf/, /ˈbreːv(ə)/
Adjective
bref (plural and weak singular breve)
- concise (having a short word-count)
- brief (short, ephemeral or quick)
- (rare) diminutive, little
- (rare) stupid
Derived terms
- brevely
Descendants
- English: brief
- Scots: brief
References
- “brẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-09.
Noun
bref (plural brefes)
- A message, especially one that gives approval or authorises.
- brief (writ, summons)
- A written text or part of one acting as a record.
- (rare, music) breve (double whole note)
Descendants
- English: brief, breve
- Scots: brief, brieve, breef, briefe
References
- “brẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-09.
Old French
Etymology
From Latin brevis.
Noun
bref m (oblique plural bres, nominative singular bres, nominative plural bref)
- Alternative form of brief
Swedish
Noun
bref n
- Obsolete spelling of brev