Curtest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Displaying the form characterized by the greatest brevity and directness in speech or action; being the shortest and most concise possible ; marked by an economy of words that borders on brusqueness or abruptness
2. Exhibiting the utmost succinctness in communication, often conveying messages with minimal detail or pleasantries ; delivering statements or responses in a clipped, possibly terse manner ; notable for brevity that may appear curt or ungracious
3. Denoting an expression or interaction that is minimally extended in duration or word count ; emphasizing a style that is strikingly brief to the point of appearing harsh or unfriendly ; characterized by a concise and to-the-point nature that limits elaboration or warmth

Etymology: "Curtest" is the superlative of "curt", so its history is that of "curt" itself. "Curt" comes from Latin "curtus", meaning "shortened", and it is a doublet of "short": the two words descend from the same Indo-European root but arrived in English by different routes. "Short" came down through the Germanic line, while "curt" was borrowed from Latin, which is why the two sound so different despite sharing a sense of brevity. The Latin "curtus" also turns up in the Romance languages, where it produced French "court", Italian "corto", and Spanish "corto", all meaning short. The Dutch "kort" and German "kurz" are cognates of the same family, so the idea of being cut down to a short length has spread across much of Europe.

Synonyms: shortest, briefest

Antonyms: longest, most polite