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abbreviatory

American

[uh-bree-vee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / əˈbri vi əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

adjective

serving to abbreviate or shorten.

“IA” is an abbreviatory form of “Iowa.”

Etymology

Origin of abbreviatory

First recorded in 1840–50; abbreviate + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For what is there more prompt, more unexpected, more abbreviatory of space and time, than the maturity of an obligation?

From Project Gutenberg

An abbreviatory sign having been attached to each of these constellations, the great celestial belt containing them was called "the wheel of the signs," or "a wheel in the middle of a wheel," as designated by that old Astrologer, Ezekiel the Prophet, in chap. i. and 16th verse.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023