A*bridge" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abridged (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Abridging.] [OE. abregen, OF. abregier, F. abréger, fr. L. abbreviare; ad + brevis short. See Brief and cf. Abbreviate.] 1. To make shorter; to shorten in duration; to lessen; to diminish; to curtail; as, to abridge labor; to abridge power or rights. "The bridegroom . . . abridged his visit." Smollett.
She retired herself to Sebaste, and abridged her train from state to necessity.
Fuller.
2. To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense; as, to abridge a history or dictionary.
3. To deprive; to cut off; -- followed by of, and formerly by from; as, to abridge one of his rights.
A*bridg"er (&?;), n. One who abridges.
A*bridg"ment (-brj"ment), n. [OE. abregement. See Abridge.] 1. The act of abridging, or the state of being abridged; diminution; lessening; reduction or deprivation; as, an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses.
2. An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation.
Ancient coins as abridgments of history.
Addison.
3. That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly. [Obs.]
What abridgment have you for this evening? What mask? What music?
Shak.
Syn. -- Abridgment, Compendium, Epitome, Abstract, Synopsis. An abridgment is made by omitting the less important parts of some larger work; as, an abridgment of a dictionary. A compendium is a brief exhibition of a subject, or science, for common use; as, a compendium of American literature. An epitome corresponds to a compendium, and gives briefly the most material points of a subject; as, an epitome of history. An abstract is a brief statement of a thing in its main points. A synopsis is a bird's-eye view of a subject, or work, in its several parts.
A*broach" (&?;), v. t. [OE. abrochen, OF. abrochier. See Broach.] To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap. [Obs.] Chaucer.
A*broach", adv. [Pref. a- + broach.] 1. Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped.
Hogsheads of ale were set abroach.
Sir W. Scott.
2. Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir. "Mischiefs that I set abroach." Shak.
A*broad" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- + broad.] 1. At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space; as, a tree spreads its branches abroad.
The fox roams far abroad.
Prior.
2. Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode; as, to walk abroad.
I went to St. James', where another was preaching in the court abroad.
Evelyn.
3. Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries; as, we have broils at home and enemies abroad. "Another prince . . . was living abroad." Macaulay.
4. Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; widely.
He went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.
Mark i. 45.
To be abroad. (a) To be wide of the mark; to be at fault; as, you are all abroad in your guess. (b) To be at a loss or nonplused.
Ab"ro*ga*ble (&?;), a. Capable of being abrogated.
Ab"ro*gate (&?;), a. [L. abrogatus, p. p.] Abrogated; abolished. [Obs.] Latimer.
Ab"ro*gate (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abrogated; p. pr. & vb. n. Abrogating.] [L. abrogatus, p. p. of abrogare; ab + rogare to ask, require, propose. See Rogation.] 1. To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or his successor; to repeal; -- applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc.
Let us see whether the New Testament abrogates what we so frequently see in the Old.
South.
Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they can not alter or abrogate.
Burke.