A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

brevis,-e (adj.B): short, little, of small extent (as opposed to longus,-a,-um (adj.A) 'long'); compar. brevior, brevius; superl. brevissimus,-a,-um (adj.A): very short; see brachy-, in Gk. comp., short; opp. longus,-a,-um (adj.A); ‘curtus,’ short, shortened, implies stumpy, squat, stubby: “short and thick like a stump” (WIII), whereas brevis,-e (adj.B), ‘short’implies measuring a small distance in direction;

breviusculus,-a,-um (adj.A): somewhat short.

NOTE: parvus,-a,-um (adj.A) means 'small.'

        singular                plural
       m.& f.   n.           m. & f.  n.
Nom.  brevis  breve         breves  brevia
Gen.     brevis                brevium
Dat.      brevi                brevibus
Acc.  brevem breve          breves   brevia
Abl.      brevi                brevibus

- ad breve, for a short time (sc. tempus,-oris (s.n.III).

- tubus brevis, cylindraceus (Swartz), the tube is short, cylindrical.

- filamentum breve (Swartz), the filament is short.

- petioli brevissimi (Swartz), the petioles extremely short.

- filamenta, brevissima, summo tubo affixa; duae posteriora breviora (Swartz), the filaments very short, attached to the tube top, the posterior two are shorter.

- rhizoma breve (B&H), the rhizome is short.

- stigmatis lobi 2, breves, erecti (B&H), the lobes of the stigmas 2, short, erect.

- flores parvi, albi, in spicas oppositifolias breves dispositi (B&H), the flowers small, white, arranged in short, opposite-leaved spikes.

- siliqua obovoidea, in stipitem brevem contracta (B&H), the silique obovoid, contracted into a short stipe.

- [Martynia] rudimentum filamenti quinti intra superius par staminum, cuspidis instar breve (Linn.), the vestige of the fifth filament below the upper pair of stamens, short, resembling a cusp.

    comparative: brevior,-ius, ‘shorter’
            singular                plural
        m.& f.     n.         m. & f.     n.
Nom.  brevior   brevius     breviores   breviora
Gen.      brevioris              breviorum
Dat.      breviori              brevioribus
Acc.  breviorem brevius     breviores   breviora
Abl.      breviore              brevioribus

. - folia quaterna, in quo verticillo duo longiora, duo breviora, leaves four together, in each whorl two longer, two shorter (Stearn).

- folia axium principalium asymmetrica, lobo ventrali minore, breviore, leaves of the principal axes asymmetric, with the ventral lobe smaller, shorter.

- labellum sessile liberum ecalcaratum paene obcordatum obscure trilobum sepalis paulo brevius (Mueller), the labellum sessile, free, lacking a spur, almost obcordate, indistinctly trilobed somewhat shorter than the sepals.

- filamenta 4, tubo affixa:2 breviora (Swartz), filaments 4, attached to the tube: two are shorter.

- foliolum caeteris 3-4-plo brevius (Swartz), the leaflet 3-4-times shorter than the rest.

- aerophoris brevioribus, with shorter aerophores.

breviusculus,-a,-um (adj.A): somewhat short.

perbrevis,-e (adj.B): very short.

subbrevis,-e (adj.B): somewhat short.

NOTE: the forms ‘breve’ and ‘brevi’ also occur as adverbs; see breve (adv.).

Carex brevior (Dewey) Mackz. ex Lunell; Artemisia brevis; Aster brevis; Centaurea brevis; Centaurium breve; Ghaphalium breve.