a brief compendium; a lawyer's brief
• (n.) A lawyer`s brief. • (n.) A short compend; a summary; a brief statement. • (v. t.) To abbreviate.
(from the article `English literature`) ...persecution after 1660, was by instinct and much of his practice a reconciler, published untiringly on religious issues. Soon after the death of ...
Bre'vi·ate noun [ Latin breviatus , past participle of breviare to shorten, brevis short.] 1. A short compend; a summary; a brief statement. « I omit in this breviate to rehearse. Hakluyt. » « The same little breviates of infidel...Bre'vi·ate transitive verb To abbreviate. [ Obsolete]
a 13th-century summary of DOMESDAY BOOK, usually containing only the names of the landholder and his tenant (if any) for each MANOR, and its assessment to the DANGELD in terms of a CARUCATE, HIDE or SULONG.