[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

brief \brief\ br=ef, a. oe. bref, f. brief, bref, fr. l.
   brevis; akin to gr. brachy`s short, and perh. to skr. barh to
   tear. cf. breve.
   1. short in duration.
      1913 webster

            how brief the life of man.            --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. concise; terse; succinct.
      1913 webster

            the brief style is that which expresseth much in
            little.                               --b. jonson.
      1913 webster

   3. rife; common; prevalent. prov. eng.
      1913 webster

   in brief. see under brief, n.
      1913 webster

   syn: short; concise; succinct; summary; compendious;
        condensed; terse; curt; transitory; short-lived.
        1913 webster
see also:
breve in brief brief 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

brief \brief\, adv.
   1. briefly. obs. or poetic
      1913 webster

            adam, faltering long, thus answered brief. --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. soon; quickly. obs. --shak.
      1913 webster

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

brief \brief\ br=ef, n. see brief, a., and cf. breve.
   1. a short concise writing or letter; a statement in few
      words.
      1913 webster

            bear this sealed brief,
            with winged hastle, to the lord marshal. --shak.
      1913 webster

            and she told me
            in a sweet, verbal brief.             --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. an epitome.
      1913 webster

            each woman is a brief of womankind.   --overbury.
      1913 webster

   3. law 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.
      1913 webster

            it was not without some reference to it that i
            perused many a brief.                 --sir j.
                                                  stephen.
      1913 webster

   note: in england, the brief is prepared by the attorney; in
         the united states, counsel generally make up their own
         briefs.
         1913 webster

   4. law a writ; a breve. see breve, n., 2.
      1913 webster

   5. scots law 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.
      1913 webster

   6. a letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a
      collection or charitable contribution of money in
      churches, for any public or private purpose. eng.
      1913 webster

   7. pl. a type of men's underpants without legs, fitting
      tightly and held by an elastic waistband; also called
      jockey shorts.
      pjc

   apostolical brief, a letter of the pope written on fine
      parchment in modern characters, subscribed by the
      secretary of briefs, dated "a die nativitatis," i. e.,
      "from the day of the nativity," and sealed with the ring
      of the fisherman. it differs from a bull, in its
      parchment, written character, date, and seal. see bull.
      

   brief of title, an abstract or abridgment of all the deeds
      and other papers constituting the chain of title to any
      real estate.

   in brief, in a few words; in short; briefly. "open the
      matter in brief." --shak.
      1913 webster
see also:
brief breve jockey shorts apostolical brief bull brief of title 
in brief 

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

brief \brief\, v. t.
   to make an abstract or abridgment of; to shorten; as, to
   brief pleadings.
   1913 webster

[5] : WordNet (r) 2.0

brief
     adj 1: of short duration or distance; "a brief stay in the
            country"; "in a little while"; "it's a little way
            away" syn: little
     2: concise and succinct; "covered the matter in a brief
        statement"
     3: of clothing very short; "an abbreviated swimsuit"; "a
        brief bikini" syn: abbreviated
     n 1: a document stating the facts and points of law of a client's
          case syn: legal brief
     2: a condensed written summary or abstract
     v : give essential information to someone; "the reporters were
         briefed about the president's plan to invade"
see also:
little abbreviated legal brief 

[6] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

227 moby thesaurus words for "brief":
   spartan, abbreviated, abbreviation, abbreviature, abrege, abridge,
   abridged, abridgment, abrupt, abstract, account, account rendered,
   accounting, acquaint, acta, advertise, advertise of, advise,
   advocate, airmanship, annual, aposiopestic, apprise, bespeak,
   block in, block out, blunt, book, breviary, briefing, briefly,
   bring word, brisk, brusque, bulletin, capsule, capsulize,
   census report, chalk out, clipped, close, close-tongued,
   closemouthed, coach, cometary, communicate, compact, compend,
   compendious, compendium, compressed, concise, concisely,
   condensation, condense, condensed, condensed version, confer,
   conspectus, consult with, contracted, counsel, crisp, crusty, curt,
   curtailed, curtal, curtate, cut, debrief, decurtate, delineate,
   digest, direct, disclose, docked, draft, dumb, economical of words,
   election returns, elliptic, employ, engage, enlighten, ephemeral,
   epigrammatic, epitome, evanescent, explain, extract, familiarize,
   fill in, flashing, fleet, fleeting, flickering, flight plan,
   flying lessons, fugitive, give a briefing, give directions,
   give notice, give the facts, give word, gnomic, gruff, guide, head,
   hire, in brief, in sum, in summary, indisposed to talk, inform,
   instantaneous, instruct, kibitz, laconic, leave word, let know,
   line, little, low, meddle, mention to, meteoric, minutes,
   momentary, mum, mute, notify, nutshell, outline, overview, pandect,
   passing, pilot training, pilotship, pithy, pointed, precis,
   preengage, prescribe, proceedings, propose, pruned, quick, quiet,
   recommend, recruit, report, reserve, reserved, resume, retain,
   returns, review, rough, rough in, rough out, rubric, run down,
   run through, rundown, send word, sententious, serve notice, short,
   short and sweet, short-lived, short-term, short-termed, shorten,
   shortened, shortened version, sign on, sign up, sign up for,
   silent, skeleton, sketch, sketch out, snug, sparing of words,
   speak, speechless, speedy, statement, submit, succinct, succinctly,
   suggest, summarize, summary, survey, swift, syllabus, synopsis,
   synopsize, synopsized, synoptic, taciturn, take into employment,
   take on, tally, tell, temporary, terse, the record,
   thumbnail sketch, tight, tight-lipped, to the point, tongue-tied,
   topical outline, trace, transactions, transient, transitory,
   truncated, unloquacious, untalkative, verse, washout, word-bound,
   wordless, yearbook

[7] : Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002)

brief
     basic reconfigurable interactive editing facility
     
     

[8] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

brief, eccl. law. the name of a kind of papal rescript. briefs are writings 
sealed with wax, and differ in this respect from bulls, q. v. which are 
scaled with lead. they are so called, because they usually are short 
compendious writings. ayl. parerg. 132. see breve. 

[9] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

brief, practice. an abridged statement of a party's case. 
     2. it should contain : 1st. a statement of the names of the parties, 
and of their residence and occupation, the character in which they sue and 
are sued, and wherefore they prosecute or resist the action. 2d. an 
abridgment of all the pleadings. 3d. a regular, chronological, and 
methodical statement of the facts in plain common language. 4th. a summary 
of the points or questions in issue, and of the proof which is to support 
such issues, mentioning specially the names of the witnesses by which the 
facts are to be proved, or if there be written evidence, an abstract of such 
evidence. 5th. the personal character of the witnesses should be mentioned; 
whether the moral character is good or bad, whether they are naturally timid 
or over-zealous, whether firm or wavering. 6th. if known, the evidence of 
the opposite party, and such facts as are adapted to oppose, confute, or 
repel it. perspicuity and conciseness are the most desirable qualities of a 
brief, but when the facts are material they cannot be too numerous when the 
argument is pertinent and weighty, it cannot be too extended. 
     3. brief is also used in the sense of breve. q. v. 

Brief >> B Words
Brief, definition of term: Brief
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Legal Brief >> L Words
Legal Brief, definition of term: Legal Brief
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In Brief >> I Words
In Brief, definition of term: In Brief
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