Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Abbreviate \Ab*bre"vi*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Abbreviated};
   p. pr. & vb. n. {Abbreviating}.] [L. abbreviatus, p. p. of
   abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See
   {Abridge}.]
   1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by
      contraction or omission, especially of words written or
      spoken.

            It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting,
            another by cutting off.               --Bacon.

   2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Abbreviate \Ab*bre"vi*ate\, a. [L. abbreviatus, p. p.]
   1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] ``The abbreviate
      form.'' --Earle.

   2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or
      than the ordinary type.

Abbreviate \Ab*bre"vi*ate\, n.
   An abridgment. [Obs.] --Elyot.

Source : WordNet®

abbreviate
     v 1: shorten; "Abbreviate `New York' and write `NY'"
     2: reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The
        manuscript must be shortened" [syn: {abridge}, {foreshorten},
         {shorten}, {cut}, {contract}, {reduce}] [ant: {elaborate}]