bref
Franco-Provençal
Etymology
Adjective
bref (feminine bréva, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural bréves) (ORB, broad)
References
- bref in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu
French
Etymology
From Old French brief, from Latin brevis. A folk etymology derives it as an acronym of Bon, Revenons-En aux Faits, but this is completely inaccurate.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bʁɛf/
Audio: (file)
Adjective
bref (feminine brève, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural brèves)
- brief (of short duration)
- Il lui envoya un bref message de quelques lignes seulement.
- He sent her a brief message of only a few lines.
Derived terms
Adverb
bref
- (informal) in short, in brief, briefly
- Je vous ai déjà dit que cela ne se peut, que cela ne doit pas être ; bref, je ne le veux pas.
- I have already told you that that cannot be, that it must not be; in short, I do not want it.
Further reading
- “bref”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Malay
Etymology
Learned borrowing from English breve.
Pronunciation
- (Baku, Johor-Riau) IPA(key): /ˈbref/ [ˈbref]
- Rhymes: -ef
- Hyphenation: bref
Noun
bref (plural bref-bref)
- breve
- (orthography, printing) semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel
- Synonyms: tanda bunyi lemah, tanda singkat
- (music) double whole note; a note twice as long as a semibreve
- Alternative form: brif
- (orthography, printing) semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel
Further reading
- “bref” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French brief, and its feminine form brieve, from Latin brevis, from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus. Doublet of mery.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /breːf/, /ˈbreːv(ə)/
Adjective
bref (plural and weak singular breve)
- concise (having a short word-count)
- brief (short, ephemeral or quick)
- (rare) diminutive, little
- (rare) stupid
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “brẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 November 2018.
Noun
bref (plural brefes)
- A message, especially one that gives approval or authorises.
- brief (writ, summons)
- A written text or part of one acting as a record.
- (rare, music) breve (double whole note)
Descendants
References
- “brẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 November 2018.
Old French
Etymology
Noun
bref oblique singular, m (oblique plural bres, nominative singular bres, nominative plural bref)
- alternative form of brief
Swedish
Noun
bref n
- obsolete spelling of brev
Welsh
Etymology
From the verbal base of brefaf / brefu (“to bleat, bellow, bray”), from Proto-Brythonic *brėβ̃ɨd (“to make noise”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /breːv/
- Rhymes: -eːv
Noun
bref m (plural brefau or brefion)
Derived terms
Mutation
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
---|---|---|---|
bref | fref | mref | unchanged |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “bref”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
- Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 24