Breviograph
A breviograph or brevigraph (from
Latin: brevis, short, and Greek grapho, to write) is a type of scribal abbreviation in the form of an easily written symbol, character, flourish or stroke, based on a modified letter form to take the place of a common letter combination, especially those occurring at the beginning or end of a word. Breviographs were used frequently by stenographers, law clerks and scriveners, and they were also found in early printed books and tracts.[1]
Their use declined after the 17th century.
Examples
Examples of breviographs:[2][3][4]
- & — et (e.g. &c = etc)
- ⋅i⋅ — id est
- ꝑ — per-, pre-, or par- (e.g. ꝑson = person)
- ß — ser-, sur-, or sir- (e.g. ßuaunt = seruaunt = servant)
- X — Christ- (e.g. Xian = Christian)
See also
- Acronym and initialism
- Palaeography
- Tironian notes
- Classical abbreviations
- Medieval abbreviations
- Scribal abbreviations
References
- ^ Tannenbaum, Samuel A. The Handwriting of the Renaissance (1931), New York: Columbia UP, 125-134.
- ^ Zurcher, Andrew. "Basic Conventions for Transcription". English Handwriting 1500-1700: An Online Course. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
- ISBN 9788478001576.
- ^ "Alphabet Abbreviations" (PDF). Practical Paleography. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Sources
- Elaine E. Whitaker, "Lacunae and the id est Brevigraph in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 283," Manuscripta 36, no. 3 (1992), 191–99.
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