LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

brevitās

brevitās f (genitive brevitātis)
Classical[ˈbrɛ.wɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈbrɛː.vi.tas]

Meaning

  1. shortness; narrowness
  2. briefness, brevity, shortness
  3. conciseness, terseness, brevity

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

shortness
brevitās — in Seneca, ch. VII

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebrevitāsbrevitātēs
genitivebrevitātisbrevitātum
dativebrevitātībrevitātibus
accusativebrevitātembrevitātēs
ablativebrevitātebrevitātibus
vocativebrevitāsbrevitātēs

brĕvĭtas, ātis, f. brevis,
I. shortness.
I. Lit., in space (cf. brevis, I.) (rare): brevitas angusti freti, the narrowness of the strait, Gell. 10, 27, 6: hominibus Gallis prae magnitudine corporum suorum brevitas nostra contemptui est, smallness of stature, Caes. B. G. 2, 30; cf.: haec habilis brevitate suā est, Ov. Am. 2, 4, 35: spatii, Caes. B. C. 1, 82, 3: crurum, Plin. 8, 34, 52, § 123: chamaeplatani coactae brevitatis, Plin. 12, 2, 6, § 13: guttarum, Vitr. 7, 8, 2.—More freq.,
B. Transf.
1. In time, shortness, brevity: ita diei brevitas conviviis, noctis longitudo in stupris continebatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 26: temporis, id. Att. 1, 10, 1: imperii, Tac. H. 1, 47: horae, Sil. 3, 141: vitae, Cic. Tusc. 1, 38, 91; Sen. Brev. Vit. tit. et saep.—Absol.: confer nostram longissimam aetatem cum aeternitate; in eādem propemodum brevitate quā illae bestiolae reperiemur, Cic. Tusc. 1, 39, 94.—But most freq.,
2. Of discourse, brevity, conciseness: si brevitas appellanda est, cum verbum nullum redundat, brevis est L. Crassi oratio; sin tum est brevitas, cum tantum verborum est, quantum necesse est, etc., Cic. de Or. 2, 80, 326 sq.; id. Brut. 13, 50; 17, 66; id. Inv. 1, 20, 28 sq.; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 40, § 103; id. Leg. 3, 18, 40: cujus tanta in dicendo brevitas fuit, id. Har. Resp. 19, 41: et a me brevitas postulatur, qui mihimet ipsi amicissima est, id. Quint. 10, 34: nos brevitatem in hoc ponimus, non ut minus, sed ne plus dicatur quam oporteat, Quint. 4, 2, 43: illa Sallustiana brevitas, id. 4, 2, 45; 10, 1, 32: brevitas quoque aut copia non genere materiae sed modo constant, id. 3, 8, 67; 10, 1, 46; 10, 5, 8; 6, 3, 45; 12, 10, 48: ea, quotiens causa poscit, ubertas, ea, quotiens permittit, brevitas, Tac. Or. 23: contionem imperatoriā brevitate pronuntiat, id. H. 1, 18: est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia, * Hor. S. 1, 10, 9; Phaedr. 2, prol. 12; 3, 10, 60: brevitatis causā, gratiā, for the sake of brevity or conciseness, Cic. Off. 2, 12, 43; cf. Quint. 4, 2, 67: gratiā, Plin. 18, 25, 57, § 214.—
3. Of shortness of syllables: fluit numerus tum incitatius brevitate pedum, tum proceritate tardius, Cic. Or. 63, 212: brevitas celeritas syllabarum, id. ib. 57, 191: contractio et brevitas dignitatem non habet, id. ib. 57, 193.—In plur.: omnium longitudinum et brevitatum in sonis... judicium, etc., Cic. Or. 51, 173.—
II. For exiguitas, parvitas (cf. brevis, II. C.), littleness, smallness: cujusvis in brevitate corporis, Lucr. 2, 483: vineae, Paul. Aug. 2: doni, Claud. Epigr. 20, 11.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mreǵʰ-
  2. Latinbrevitās

Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰusder. Proto-Italic *breɣʷis Latin brevis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin brevitās From brevis (“short, little, of small extent”) + -tās.

Descendants
  • Catalanbrevetat
  • Englishbrevity
  • Frenchbrièveté
  • Italianbrevità
  • Occitanbrevitat
  • Portuguesebrevidade
  • Romanianbrevitate
  • Spanishbrevedad
  • Galicianbrevidade

In English words that came into English from brevitās

  • brevitybrevitās

Quick answers

What does brevitās mean in Latin?
brevitās, a noun, means “shortness; narrowness; briefness, brevity, shortness”.
What is the genitive of brevitās?
The genitive singular is brevitātis. brevitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce brevitās?
In classical Latin, [ˈbrɛ.wɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbrɛː.vi.tas].
Where does brevitās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- → Latin brevitās.