1. (n.) An abridgment; a compend; an epitome; a brief account or summary.

2. (n.) A book containing the daily public or canonical prayers of the Roman Catholic or of the Greek Church for the seven canonical hours, namely, matins and lauds, the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, and compline; -- distinguished from the missal.

abatement abbreviation abstract alleviation aphorism apocope attenuation bereavement blue-penciling bowdlerization breviary brief cancellation capsule censoring censorship compendium compression condensation conspectus contraction curtailment dampening damping decrease decrement decrescence deduction deflation deletion depreciation depression deprivation deprivement digest diminishment diminution disburdening disburdenment disentitlement divestment dying dying off editing elision ellipsis epigram epitome erasure expurgation extenuation fade-out foreshortening languishment lessening letup lowering miniaturization mitigation omission outline precis privation recap recapitulation reduction relaxation relieving retrenchment sagging scaling down shortening simplicity sketch striking subtraction sum summary summation summing-up syllabus syncope synopsis telescoping truncation weakening