bref

See also: bréf

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

From Latin brevis.

Adjective

bref (feminine bréva, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural bréves) (ORB, broad)

1. brief

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:

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• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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Adjective

bref (feminine brève, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural brèves)

1. 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

• dans les plus brefs délais
• en bref

Adverb

bref

1. (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, schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /ˈbref/ [ˈbref]
• Rhymes: -ef
• Hyphenation: bref

Noun

bref (plural bref-bref or bref²)

1. breve
   1. (orthography, printing) semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel

      Synonyms: tanda bunyi lemah, tanda singkat

   2. (music) double whole note; a note twice as long as a semibreve

      Alternative form: brif

Further reading

• "bref" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Middle English

Alternative forms

• breef, breve, brefe, breefe

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)

1. concise (having a short word-count)
2. brief (short, ephemeral or quick)
3. (rare) diminutive, little
4. (rare) stupid

Derived terms

• brevely

Descendants

• English: brief
• Fingallian: brief
• Scots: brief

References

• “brẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 November 2018.

Noun

bref (plural brefes)

1. A message, especially one that gives approval or authorises.
2. brief (writ, summons)
3. A written text or part of one acting as a record.
4. (rare, music) breve (double whole note)

Descendants

• English: brief, breve
• Scots: brief, brieve, breef, briefe

References

• “brẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 November 2018.

Old French

Etymology

From Latin brevis.

Noun

bref oblique singular, m (oblique plural bres, nominative singular bres, nominative plural bref)

1. alternative form of brief

Swedish

Noun

bref n

1. 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)

1. a bleat, low, bellow, bray, roar, cry

Derived terms

• brefu (“to bleat, to bellow, to bray, to cry”)
• Hydref (“October”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of bref

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