“short” in Latin

Of small extent in space, brevis (general term; opposed to longus, latus): curtus (cut short; too short): contractus (narrowed, limited in extent): astrictus (drawn tight; short in breadth or width). (The words are found in this connection and order.) contractus et astrictus: artus: angustus (tight, narrow): minutus (made very small): praecisus (broken off, abrupt; e.g., conclusiones): pressus (compact). Very short, perbrevis; brevissimus: short of stature, statura, brevis; brevis; brevi corpore: a short way, via brevis or compendiaria; viae compendium (post-Augustan): short hair, capilli breves (opposed to capilli longi): capilli tonsi (cut. Juv., 9, 149): short sight, oculi non longe conspectum ferentes: to have short sight, oculis non satis prospicere: to be short (in speaking or writing), breviter, or paucis, or praecise dicere (opposed to copiose, plene et perfecte dicere); brevi praecidere; paucis or breviter scribere or perscribere: to be short (in narrative or description), breviter exponere or paucis absolvere aliquid; in pauca conferre aliquid; breviter astringere aliquid (e.g., argumenta): be short, in pauca confer; verbo dicas; praecide; id, si potes, verbo expedi: I will be as short as I can, in verba conferam paucissima: in short to be short, ut in pauca conferam; ne longum faciam; ne longus sim; ut ad pauca redeam; ut paucis dicam; ne (multis) te morer; de quo ne multa disseram; ne multa; ne plura; quid multa? quid plura? quid quaeris? ad summam; denique (denique especially when a conclusion is added to a series of enumerations); uno verbo (in one word; ☞ only when no more than one word follows; Vid: Cato, R.R., 157, 5; Cic., Phil., 2, 22, 54). Also, que (affixed) is used to express “short” (in order to resume; Vid: commentators on Caes., B.G., 2, 3; ad Cic., Catil., 3, 8, 28; ad Cic., De Legg., 1, 18, 48, and 2, 7, 16). Short and sweet, paucis quidem, sed bene.

Of brief extent in time, brevis, exiguus (unimportant, inconsiderable): contractus (contracted, shortened; e.g., noctes). The shortest day, dies brumalis (opposed to dies solstitialis); bruma (the winter solstice; opposed to solstitium): the shortest night, nox solstitialis (opposed to nox brumalis, in Ov., Pont., 2, 4, 26); solstitium (the summer solstice; opposed to bruma. ☞ The writers of the best age, and even Sen., N. Qu., 7, 1, 3, use solstitium only in this sense; and hence it is unclassical to say solstitium brumale or hibernum for bruma, or solstitium aestivum for solstitium alone; Vid: Ruhnken, Ter., Phorm., 4, 4, 28; Ochsn., Cic., Ecl., p. 284). A short syllable, syllaba brevis: to mark a syllable as short, syllabam corripere (opposed to producere): to pronounce short, breviter dicere syllabam: in inclitus the first letter [syllable] is short, inclitus dicimus [dicitur] brevi prima, littera): a short memory, memoria hebes: in a short time, brevi tempore; brevi spatio, or more commonly, brevi, celeriter (quickly): in a very short time, perbrevi: a short time before, brevi ante, paullo ante, proxime; modo (just now, not long since); nuper (lately, but of a point of time more or less remote; Vid: Cic., Verr., 4, 3, 6, quid dico nuper? immo vero modo ac plane paullo ante. ☞ Recens for modo or nuper is not classical): a short time after, brevi post or postea; paullo post or post paullo (Vid: commentators on Liv., 22, 60, 16); non ita multo post; brevi spatio interjecto: a short time before (a person’s death, etc.), haud multum ante (mortem alicujus): a short time after (a person’s death, etc.), haud multum post (mortem alicujus): a short time before day, paullo ante lucem; plane mane (early in the morning): to cut short a conversation, sermonem incidere (☞ sermonem abrumpere belongs to the Silver Age and the poets): to cut short an acquaintance, friendship, etc., societatem, amicitiam dirumpere, discindere; amicitiam repente praecidere (opposed to sensim dissuere): to be short with anybody, aliquem severius adhibere (Cic., Att., 10, 12, 3).