Etymology of the English word brief
the English word
briefderived from the Old French word
brefderived from the Late Latin word
brevis (short; brief; short catalog, summary document; short, little, small)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*mregh-u-derived from the Old French word
briefderived from the Late Latin word
brevis (short; brief; short catalog, summary document; short, little, small)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*mregh-u-Date
The earliest known usage of brief in English dates from the 14th century.
Derivations in English
breve,
briefing,
debrief,
briefly,
briefcaseCognates
Dutch
brief, French
brevet, German
Brief, Icelandic
bréf, Swedish
brevUsage
Word found in Modern English
