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briefs

 [breef]   Origin

brief

   [breef] adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb
adjective
1.
lasting or taking a short time; of short duration: a brief walk; a brief stay in the country.
2.
using few words; concise; succinct: a brief report on weather conditions.
3.
abrupt or curt.
4.
scanty: a brief bathing suit.
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noun
5.
a short and concise statement or written item.
6.
an outline, the form of which is determined by set rules, of all the possible arguments and information on one side of a controversy: a debater's brief.
7.
Law.
a.
a writ summoning one to answer to any action.
b.
a memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.
c.
a written argument submitted to a court.
d.
(in England) the material relevant to a case, delivered by a solicitor to the barrister who tries the case.
8.
an outline, summary, or synopsis, as of a book.
9.
briefs, (used with a plural verb) close-fitting, legless underpants with an elastic waistband.
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10.
briefing.
11.
Roman Catholic Church. a papal letter less formal than a bull, sealed with the pope's signet ring or stamped with the device borne on this ring.
12.
British Theater. a free ticket; pass.
13.
Obsolete. a letter.
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Briefs is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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verb (used with object)
14.
to make an abstract or summary of.
15.
to instruct by a brief or briefing: They brief all the agents before assigning them.
16.
Law. to retain as advocate in a suit.
Idioms
17.
hold a brief for, to support or defend by argument; endorse.
18.
in brief, in a few words; in short: The supervisor outlined in brief the duties of the new assistant.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English bref < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin brevis short; see breve

Related forms
brief·er, noun
brief·ness, noun
un·brief, adjective
un·brief·ly, adverb
un·brief·ness, noun
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un·briefed, adjective
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Synonyms
1. short-lived, fleeting, transitory, ephemeral, transient. See short. 2. terse, compact, pithy, condensed. 5. outline, précis, epitome, abstract. See summary. 14. summarize, outline.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
briefs (briːfs)
 
—pl n
men's underpants or women's pants without legs

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

briefs
"short, tight underwear," 1934, from brief (adj.).
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brief
from L. breve (gen. brevis), noun derivative of L. adj. brevis (see brief (adj.)) which came to mean "letter, summary" (specifically a letter of the pope, less ample and solemn than a bull), and came to mean "letter of authority," which yielded the modern, legal sense of "summary
of the facts of a case" (1630s). The verb meaning "to give instructions or information to" (1866) was originally "to instruct by a brief" (1862); hence briefing, first attested 1910 but popularized by WWII pre-flight conferences.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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