abridgment

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act of abridging or the state of being abridged.
2. n. A written text that has been abridged.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of abridging, or the state of being abridged; diminution; contraction; reduction; curtailment; restriction: as, an abridgment of expenses; “abridgment of liberty,”
2. n. A condensation, as of a book; a reduction within a smaller space; a reproduction of anything in reduced or condensed form.
3. n. That which abridges or cuts short.
4. n. That which shortens anything, as time, or makes it appear short; hence, a pastime.
5. n. Also spelled abridgement. Synonyms Abridgment, Compendium, Epitome, Abstract, Conspectus, Synopsis, Summary, Syllabus, Brief, Digest. An abridgment is a work shortened by condensation of statement, or by omitting the less essential parts. A compendium, or compend, is a concise but comprehensive view of a subject; in general it does not imply, as abridgment does, the existence of a larger or previous work. An epitome contains only the most important points of a work or subject, expressed in the smallest compass. An abstract is a bare statement or outline of facts, heads, or leading features in a book, lecture, subject, etc. Conspectus and synopsis are, literally, condensed views—the substance of any matter so arranged as to be taken in at a glance; synopsis implies orderly arrangement under heads and particulars. A summary is a brief statement of the main points in a work or treatise, less methodical than an abstract or a synopsis; it may be a recapitulation. A syllabus is commonly a synopsis printed for the convenience of those hearing lectures; but the term is also applied to certain papal documents. (See syllabus.) Brief is generally confined to its technical legal meanings. (See brief.) A digest is a methodical arrangement of the material of a subject, as under heads or titles; it may include the whole of the matter concerned: as, a digest of laws. There may be an abridgment of a dictionary, a compend or compendium of literature, an epitome of a political situation, an abstract of a sermon, a conspectus or synopsis of a book, a summary of the arguments in a debate, a digest of opinions on some moot point.

Wiktionary

1. n. obsolete That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly
2. n. dated, law Any of various brief statments of case law made before modern reporting of legal cases.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of abridging, or the state of being abridged; diminution; lessening; reduction or deprivation.
2. n. An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form, esp. of a written work; an abbreviation.
3. n. obsolete That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly.
4. n. a diminution or curtailment, as of legal rights.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a shortened version of a written work