abridgeEnglishOxford New American Dictionaryabridge /əˈbrij, əˈbrɪdʒ / ▸ verb [with object] 1 shorten (a piece of writing) without losing the sense: the introduction is abridged from the author's afterword to the novel. 2 Law curtail (a right or privilege): even the right to free speech can be abridged. – DERIVATIVES abridgeable ,abridger – ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘deprive of’): from Old French abregier, from late Latin abbreviare ‘cut short’ (see abbreviate).