"brief, short" in seven languages
Meaningbrief, short
Spanish
breve
/ˈbɾebe/
learned
En breve: shortly.
French
bref
/bʁɛf/
inherited
fem.: brève
Also 'in short': bref, on n'y est pas allés.
Italian
breve
/ˈbrɛve/
learned
Portuguese
breve
/ˈbɾɛvi/
learned
Romanian
scurt
/skurt/
other source · Latin *EXCURTUM, from CURTUM 'cut short'
Catalan
breu
/bɾew/
inherited
Catalan dropped the final vowel and vocalized the v: BREVEM → breu.
English
brief
/bɹif/
from Latin/French · Old French brief
English → Italianbrief, shortbreveCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
BREVEM‘short’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Inherited BRĔVEM would have broken its short e into ie; Spanish and Italian breve show no such break, the mark of a learned word. French bref hardened the final v to f, as in neuf from NOVUM.
English relatives: abbreviate, brevity, abridge
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In a sentence
- esDio un breve discurso.
- frIl a fait un bref discours.
- itHa fatto un breve discorso.
- ptEle fez um breve discurso.
- roA ținut un discurs scurt.
- caVa fer un discurs breu.
- enHe gave a brief speech.
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