brief
BREEF · adjective
Origin
Brief comes from Middle English breef or bref, from Old French brief/bref, from Latin brevis, meaning 'short,' which traces back to Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus, 'short, brief.'
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Journey
The word has kept a remarkably stable meaning across all these languages — short, condensed, over quickly — from its earliest reconstructed PIE form right through to modern English.
Related words
Brief is a doublet of breve and merry, meaning all three descend from the same root through different paths.