— summariness /seuh mair"i nis/ , n.
/sum"euh ree/ , n. , pl. summaries , adj.
n.
1. a comprehensive and usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.
adj.
2. brief and comprehensive; concise.
3. direct and prompt; unceremoniously fast: to treat someone with summary dispatch.
4. (of legal proceedings, jurisdiction, etc.) conducted without, or exempt from, the various steps and delays of a formal trial.
[ 1400-50; late ME summarium, equiv. to summ ( a ) SUM + -arium -ARY ]
Syn. 1. outline, précis. SUMMARY, BRIEF, DIGEST, SYNOPSIS are terms for a short version of a longer work. A SUMMARY is a brief statement or restatement of main points, esp. as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A BRIEF is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument. A DIGEST is an abridgement of an article, book, etc., or an organized arrangement of material under heads and titles: a digest of a popular novel; a digest of Roman law. A SYNOPSIS is usually a compressed statement of the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a synopsis of Hamlet. 2. short, condensed, compact, succinct. 3. curt, terse, peremptory.