abreggen

Middle English

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

From Old French abreger, from Latin abbreviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbrɛd͡ʒən/, /aˈbrid͡ʒən/

Verb

abreggen (third-person singular simple present abreggeth, present participle abreggende, abreggynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle abregged)

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 in -ed)

infinitive	(to) abreggen, abregge
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	abregge	abregged
2nd-person singular	abreggest	abreggedest
3rd-person singular	abreggeth	abregged
subjunctive singular	abregge
imperative singular		—
plural1	abreggen, abregge	abreggeden, abreggede
imperative plural	abreggeth, abregge	—
participles	abreggynge, abreggende	abregged, yabregged

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: abridge

References

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