abridgment
nounUS /əˈbɹɪd͡ʒ.mənt/
Etymology First attested in 1494. From Middle English abrygement, from Middle French abrégement. Equivalent to abridge + -ment.
1
US The act of abridging; reduction or deprivation
- an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses
2
US The state of being abridged or lessened.
3
US An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation.
- The article which embodied my researches having proved somewhat too long for its purpose, an abridgment of it only was inserted in the Encyclopædia.1910, James George Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, volume 1, page viii:
- When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious.2012 March 22, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in AV Club:
4
Obsolete That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly
- What abridgment have you for this evening? What masque? what music?1605, Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, V-i:
6
Law The leaving out of certain portions of a plaintiff's demand, the writ still holding good for the remainder.
- Synonyms
- compendium, epitome, abstract, synopsis, précis
- Derived terms
- nonabridgment
- Related terms
- abridge