Abbreviate

[imp. & p. p. ABBREVIATED; p. pr. & vb. n. ABBREVIATING.] [L. Lat. abbreviare, from Lat. ab and breviare, to shorten, from brevis, short; It. abbreviare, Pr. Sp. abreviar, Pg. abbreviar. Cf. ABRIDGE.] 1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission. It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon. 2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

(Bot.) Having one part relatively shorter than another. London.