brief

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
brief/briːf/

▶adjective

• 1 of short duration.

• 2 concise; using few words.

• 3 (of clothing) not covering much of the body.

▶noun

• 1 Brit. a summary of the facts and legal points in a case given to a barrister to argue in court.

  ■ a piece of work for a barrister.

  ■ N. Amer. a written statement of the facts and legal points supporting one side of a case, for presentation to a court.

• 2 Brit. informal a solicitor or barrister.

• 3 chiefly Brit. a set of instructions given to a person about a task.

• 4 a letter from the Pope on a matter of discipline.

▶verb instruct thoroughly in preparation for a task.

■ Brit. instruct (a barrister) by brief.

– phrases
hold a brief for Brit. be retained as counsel for.
hold no brief for Brit. not support.
in brief in short.

– derivatives
briefer noun
briefly adverb,
briefness noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. brief, from L. brevis ‘short’; the noun is via late L. breve ‘note, dispatch’.