ABBREVIATE Meaning of ABBREVIATE in English [ ə'bri:vɪeɪt ]■ verb shorten (a word, phrase, or text).Derivativesabbreviation noun OriginME: from late L. abbreviat- , abbreviare 'shorten', from L. brevis 'short'. Concise Oxford English vocab. Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка. 2004