verb

• (transitive, archaic) To deprive; to cut off.
• (transitive, archaic, rare) To debar from.
• (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten in duration or extent.
  "She retired her self to Sebaste, and abridged her train from State to necessity."
• (transitive) To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense.
  "It was still necessary for the man who had been formerly saluted by the highest authority as dictator of the English language to supply his wants by constant toil. He abridged his Dictionary. He proposed to bring out an edition of Shakespeare by subscription, and many subscribers sent in their names and laid down their money; but he soon found the task so little to his taste that he turned to more attractive employments."