Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Abbreviation has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
a shortened form of a word or phrase
"She kept her notes clean by writing every long technical term as its abbreviation instead."
shortening something by omitting parts of it
"The GPS system displays our location as an abbreviation to save space on the small screen."
The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.
"The author's original manuscript was cut down to a mere ten pages for the magazine, resulting in an abbreviation that left out all his detailed analysis."
The word "abbreviation" comes from the Latin verb abrevisare, meaning "to shorten." It originally entered English through Middle French and Middle English around 1400.