abreggen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• abregen, abriggen, abrigen, obriggen, abregge, abrigge

Etymology

From Old French abreger, from Latin abbreviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbrɛdʒən/, /aˈbridʒən/

Verb

abreggen

1. To lessen (either quantity or amount).
2. To shorten or reduce in duration or time.
   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 2999-3000:

     Al mowe they yet tho dayes wel abregge, / Ther nedeth noght noon auctoritee t'allegge

     Though they could potentially make those days shorter, / No authority is needed to assert that […]

3. To abridge or condense; to make into less words.
4. To palliate, mitigate, or ameliorate; to make less dire.
5. To terminate, stop, or block; to cause the end of.
6. (rare) To restrict one's rights or privileges.
7. (rare) To lessen in length or distance.
8. (rare) To change to take less time.
9. (rare) To release from something.

Conjugation

Conjugation of abreggen (weak)

infinitive	(to) abreggen
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	abregge	abreggede
2nd person singular	abreggest	abreggedest
3rd person singular	abreggeþ, abreggeth	abreggede
plural	abreggen	abreggeden
subjunctive	present	past
singular	abregge	abreggede
plural	abreggen	abreggeden
imperative	present
singular	abregge
plural	abreggeþ, abreggeth
participle	present	past
	abreggende, abregginge	abregged, yabregged

Descendants

• English: abridge

References

• “abreǧ(ǧ)en, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-16.