brief·ly

[breef-lee]
adverb
1.
for a short duration: He stopped over briefly in Chicago.
2.
in a few words: Let me explain briefly.
3.
in a brief manner; quickly or brusquely: She nodded briefly and began to speak.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English; see brief, -ly

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
brief (briːf) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  short in duration: a brief holiday
2.  short in length or extent; scanty: a brief bikini
3.  abrupt in manner; brusque: the professor was brief with me this morning
4.  terse or concise; containing few words: he made a brief statement
 
n
5.  a condensed or short statement or written synopsis; abstract
6.  law a document containing all the facts and points of law of a case by which a solicitor instructs a barrister to represent a client
7.  RC Church a letter issuing from the Roman court written in modern characters, as contrasted with a papal bull; papal brief
8.  short for briefing
9.  a paper outlining the arguments and information on one side of a debate
10.  slang (Brit) a lawyer, esp a barrister
11.  hold a brief for to argue for; champion
12.  in brief in short; to sum up
 
vb (foll by against)
13.  to prepare or instruct by giving a summary of relevant facts
14.  to make a summary or synopsis of
15.  English law
 a.  to instruct (a barrister) by brief
 b.  to retain (a barrister) as counsel
16.  See also briefs to supply potentially damaging or negative information regarding somone, as to the media, a politician, etc
 
[C14: from Old French bref, from Latin brevis; related to Greek brakhus]
 
'briefly
 
adv
 
'briefness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Briefly is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

briefly
c.1300, from brief (adj.). As an introduction to a statement, "in short," recorded from 1510s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
He briefly joined a club team, but the level of play was so primitive he soon
  lost interest and turned to coaching swimming.
Briefly return to oven to toast almonds, then sprinkle with sugar and serve.
More hints of a cosmic arrow come from studies of supernovae, stellar
  cataclysms that briefly outshine entire galaxies.
She goes there much less often and stays only briefly.
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