Abbreviacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of abbreviation, meaning a condensed form of a word or phrase, or the act of making something shorter
2. A medieval term for a shortened version of a written word, or the process of cutting a text or speech down to fewer words
3. Old form of a word meaning the reduction of a text or phrase to a briefer written form, such as a contraction or initialism

Etymology: The "ad" in Latin "abbreviare" became "abb-" because Latin assimilated the prefix to the sound that followed it: "ad" plus "brevis" ("short") gave "abbreviare," "to make short." The same root gives English "brief" and "brevity," so an abbreviation is, quite literally, a shortening. The spelling you've sent, "abbreviacioun," is a Middle English form, with the ending "-cioun" reflecting the Old French "-cion" that English borrowed through Anglo-Norman speakers. The word likely entered English in the late 14th century, when Middle English was taking in many Latinate terms through French. By then the Latin noun "abbreviatio" had already been used for shortening texts and writing, so the sense of a shortened form was present from the start.