Brief

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Brief

(a.) Short in duration.
(a.) Concise; terse; succinct.
(a.) Rife; common; prevalent.
(adv.) Briefly.
(adv.) Soon; quickly.
(a.) A short concise writing or letter; a statement in few words.
(a.) An epitome.
(a.) An abridgment or concise statement of a client's case, made out for the instruction of counsel in a trial at law. This word is applied also to a statement of the heads or points of a law argument.
(a.) A writ; a breve. See Breve, n., 2.
(n.) A writ issuing from the chancery, directed to any judge ordinary, commanding and authorizing that judge to call a jury to inquire into the case, and upon their verdict to pronounce sentence.
(n.) A letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a collection or charitable contribution of money in churches, for any public or private purpose.
(v. t.) To make an abstract or abridgment of; to shorten; as, to brief pleadings.