brev
brɛv
Why a briefing and a briefcase share one root
The picture Something that ran long with its end snipped off, leaving a piece the length of one finger joint. brev cuts a thing short; magn swells it big.
Where the picture shows up in brev
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Time cut short
Let us keep the meeting brief today.
lɛt ʌs kiːp ðə ˈmiːtɪŋ briːf təˈdeɪ
Let's keep today's meeting short.
An hour-long agenda with the back end snipped off, ten minutes left.
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Handing over the short version
I will brief the team at nine.
aɪ wɪl briːf ðə tiːm æt naɪn
I'll fill the team in at nine.
A few lines pulled out of a thick file and handed across.
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A short stay
She stopped by the office briefly.
ʃiː stɑːpt baɪ ðiː ˈɔːfɪs ˈbriːfli
She dropped by the office for a minute.
Somebody in and back out again between the door opening and closing.
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A long word cut down
Please abbreviate the title on the form.
pliːz əˈbriːvieɪt ðə ˈtaɪtl ɒn ðə fɔːrm
Use a short form of the title on the form.
The tail of a long name snipped off and capped with a single dot.
ab- means off: cut off short and you abbreviate.
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The bag for short papers
He left his briefcase by the door.
hiː lɛft hɪz ˈbriːfkeɪs baɪ ðə dɔːr
He left his case by the door.
A few pages of points only, carried in one flat bag.
A brief was first a short written document — the bag for it is a briefcase.
All of it in one picture
brev is the picture of a length cut short. Cut time out of the meeting and it is brief; cut the long account down to the points and you brief somebody. A short stay is briefly; cut a long word down and you abbreviate it; the flat bag that carries those short papers is a briefcase. So when you see brev, think cut short.