shorthand

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc.

   • All ſhort Hands are ſubject to Ambiguity; for there being but 8 Marks to repreſent 24 Letters, and thoſe 8 being uſed for 8 of them in the Short Hand Alphabets, the other Letters muſt be deſcribed by Characters compounded of theſe 8.
   • A is denoted by a dot at the top of the Short-hand line; [...] The vowel a, in Short-hand, is used for the article a, or ah; [...]
2. 2

   Any brief or shortened way of saying or doing something.

   • The jargon becomes a shorthand for these advanced concepts.
   • Trust me, he's Pakistani, because that's the average numpty's shorthand for Muslim.
3. 3

   To render (spoken or written words) into shorthand.

   • All the time she'd pretended to be fiddling with her purse over there behind the man, she'd been shorthanding him down—every word, every quotation, every date, every name.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To use a brief or shortened way of saying or doing something.

      • He liked [John Dann] MacDonald's books: You could always tell who the villainesses were because the narrator made a point of noting they had fat asses. It was as good a way as any to shorthand the world, he thought.
   2. 5

      To write in shorthand.

      • Steele nodded and settled on the chesterfield. He regarded Betty seriously, her notebook poised on the table beside her as she reclined in her chair. [...] "I remember," Betty acknowledged, and went on shorthanding.

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