Why brief is called brief?
There's a document called brief, given to a barrister, which is not at all brief.
It's concise and detailed
then why do they call it a brief?
Top answer
stewie497 then why do they call it a brief? It is historical. , bref, "a writing issued by authority," from Latin breve (genitive brevis), noun derivative of adjective brevis "short, little" which came to mean "letter, summary," specifically a letter of the pope (less ample and solemn than a bull), and thus came to mean "letter of authority," which yielded the modern, legal sense of "systematic summary of the facts of a case" (1630s).
- stewie497 then why do they call it a brief?
- It is historical.
- , bref, "a writing issued by authority," from Latin breve (genitive brevis), noun derivative of adjective brevis "short, little" which came to mean "letter, summary," specifically a letter of the pope (less ample and solemn than a bull), and thus came to mean "letter of authority," which yielded the modern, legal sense of "systematic summary of the facts of a case" (1630s).
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
stewie497then why do they call it a brief?
It is historical.
Brief (n)
early 14c., bref, "a writing issued by authority," from Latin breve (genitive brevis), noun derivative of adjective brevis "short, little" which came to mean "letter, summary," specifically a letter of the pope (less ample and solemn than a bull), and thus came to mean "lette
0The word entered Middle English as "bref" directly from Old French, at which time it existed in Late classical Latin as breve, "summary", from Latin brevus, "short". It had many meanings over the centuries that it has since lost, such as "writ", "letter" and "note". It seems to have been used in official contexts from the beginning, and it still is. It is only distantly related t
0
Related Questions