brevity

== English == === Etymology === First attested in English in 1509; either: Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɹɛvɪti/ (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɹɛvəti/ (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbɹɛvəti/, [ˈbɹɛvəɾi], [ˈbɹɛvɾi] (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈbɹevəti/, [ˈbɹevəɾi] === Noun === brevity (countable and uncountable, plural brevities) (uncountable) The quality of being brief in duration. (uncountable) Succinctness; conciseness. (rare, countable) A short piece of writing. ==== Synonyms ==== (quality of being brief in duration): ephemerality, fleetingness, transiency; see also Thesaurus:transience (succinctness): concision, laconicism, terseness; see also Thesaurus:succinctness ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === Appendix:Brief amounts of time