Brief

brēf, n. a short account of a client's case for the instruction of counsel: a writ: a short statement of any kind.— adj. short: concise.— adj. Brief′le .— adv. Brief′ly .— n. Brief′ne .— In brief , in few words.— King's briefs , royal mandates ordering collections to be made in chapels for building churches, .; Papal brief , such documents as are i ued without some of the solemnities proper to bulls.— The brief and the long ( Shak. ), the short and the long.— To be brief , to speak in a few words; To hold a brief , to be retained as counsel in a case; To take a brief , to undertake a case. [Fr. bref —L. brevis , short.]