Adjacent Words

shorthand definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: written in abbreviated or symbolic form; "shorthand notes" n
1: a method of writing rapidly [syn: shorthand, stenography, tachygraphy]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1636 1. a method of writing rapidly by substituting characters, abbreviations, or symbols for letters, sounds, words, or phrases ; stenography 2. something likened to shorthand especially in providing rapid or abbreviated communication or representation <stereotype and cliché serve a purpose as a form of shorthand — Stephanie Ericsson> <headline shorthand> • shorthand adjective

Britannica Concise

System for rapid writing that uses symbols or abbreviations for letters, words, or phrases. Employed since Greek and Roman times, shorthand has been used in England since the 16th cent. Popular modern systems include Pitman, Gregg, and Speedwriting. Many are phonetic and call for writing words as they sound (e.g., in the Pitman system, deal, may, and knife are written del, ma, and nif). Shorthand has been used in reporting proceedings of legislative bodies and courts and in taking dictated business correspondence.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 (often attrib.) a method of rapid writing in abbreviations and symbols esp. for taking dictation. 2 an abbreviated or symbolic mode of expression. Phrases and idioms: shorthand typist Brit. a typist qualified to take and transcribe shorthand.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shorthand Short"hand`, n. A compendious and rapid method or writing by substituting characters, abbreviations, or symbols, for letters, words, etc.; short writing; stenography. See Illust. under Phonography.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Shorthand is a quick way of writing and uses signs to represent words or syllables. Shorthand is used by secretaries and journalists to write down what someone is saying. Ben took notes in shorthand. 2. You can use shorthand to mean a quick or simple way of referring to something. 'Third World' is an abstraction, a form of shorthand... N-UNCOUNT: also a N

Moby Thesaurus

Speedwriting, arrowhead, autograph, autographic, brachygraphy, calligraphic, character, chirographic, contraction, cuneiform, cursive, demotic character, determinative, engrossed, flowing, grammalogue, graphic, graphoanalytic, graphologic, graphometric, hieratic symbol, hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, hieroglyphics, hiragana, holograph, holographic, ideogram, ideograph, in longhand, in shorthand, in writing, inscribed, italic, italicized, kana, katakana, logogram, logograph, longhand, manuscript, ogham, on paper, penciled, penned, phonetic, phonetic symbol, phonography, pictogram, pictograph, printed, radical, rune, running, scriptorial, scriptural, stenographic, stenography, stylographic, tachygraphic, tachygraphy, wedge, word letter, written