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Origin and history of compendious

compendious(adj.)

"concise, abridged but comprehensive," late 14c., from Latin compendiosus "advantageous; abridged, brief," from compendium "a shortening" (see compendium). Related: Compendiously.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to compendious

compendium(n.)

"brief compilation containing the general principles or leading points of a longer system or work," 1580s, from a Medieval Latin use of Latin compendium "a shortening, saving," literally "that which is weighed together," from compendere "to weigh together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh; pay" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). Nativized earlier in English as compendi (mid-15c.).

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    Trends of compendious

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    summary
    early 15c., summari, of a statement or account, "brief, abbreviated; containing the sum or substance only," from Medieval Latin summarius "of or pertaining to the sum or substance," from Latin summa "whole, totality, gist" (see sum (n.)). Compare the Latin phrase ad summam "on th
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