Abbreviate, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Abbreviated; p.pr. & vb.n. Abbreviating.]
Etymology: [L. abbreviatus, p.p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge.]
1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken. It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon.
2. (Math.)
To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Abbreviate, a.
1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] "The abbreviate form." Earle.
2. (Biol.)
Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.
Abbreviate, n.
An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot.