(n.) The quality or state of being short; want of reach or extension; brevity; deficiency; as, the shortness of a journey; the shortness of the days in winter; the shortness of an essay; the shortness of the memory; a shortness of provisions; shortness of breath.

brachylogy briefness brusqueness compactness compendiousness conciseness concision crispness curtness dumbness economy economy of words instantaneousness laconicalness laconicism laconism littleness lowness muteness obmutescence pauciloquy pithiness pointedness quietness quietude reserve sententiousness short time shortness silence sparingness of words speechlessness succinctness summariness swiftness taciturnity terseness transience unloquaciousness untalkativeness wordlessness