Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Brevity

Brevity ({not transcribed}) , noun

[Latin brevitas, from brevis short: compare French brièvité. See Brief.]

1.
Shortness of duration; briefness of time; as, the brevity of human life.
2.
Contraction into few words; conciseness.
Brevity is the soul of wit. — Shakespeare
This argument is stated by St. John with his usual elegant brevity and simplicity. — Bp. Porteus