Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Brief in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels brief as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Brief

[See Brief, a., and cf. Breve.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordbrief
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[See Brief, a., and cf. Breve.]
Selected historical definitionA short concise writing or letter; a statement in few words.
Signed record IDwebster1913-brief-noun-0cb382e2805f
Source locatorCIDE.B, paragraph 10923; Gutenberg eBook 660
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 660Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "brief" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[See Brief, a., and cf. Breve.]" The selected historical definition says: "A short concise writing or letter; a statement in few words."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released B records

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adverb

Back

[Shortened from aback.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Better

[OE. betere, bettre, and as adv. bet, AS. betera, adj., and bet, adv.; akin to Icel. betri, adj., betr, adv., Goth. batiza, adj., OHG. bezziro, adj., baz, adv., G. besser, adj. and adv., bass, adv., E. boot, and prob. to Skr. bhadra excellent. See Boot advantage, and cf. Best, Batful.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Break

[See Break, v. t., and cf. Brake (the instrument), Breach, Brack a crack.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Bank

[F. banque, It. banca, orig. bench, table, counter, of German origin, and akin to E. bench; cf. G. bank bench, OHG. banch. See Bench, and cf. Banco, Beach.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Bill

[OE. bile, bille, AS. bile beak of a bird, proboscis; cf. Ir. & Gael. bil, bile, mouth, lip, bird's bill. Cf. Bill a weapon.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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