summary

[suhm-uh-ree] /ˈsʌm ə ri/

noun, plural summaries.

a comprehensive and usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.

adjective

brief and comprehensive; concise.

direct and prompt; unceremoniously fast:

to treat someone with summary dispatch.

(of legal proceedings, jurisdiction, etc.) conducted without, or exempt from, the various steps and delays of a formal trial.

Origin

1400-50; late Middle English < Latin summārium, equivalent to summ(a) sum + -ārium -ary

Related forms

summariness

[suh-mair-i-nis] /səˈmɛər ɪ nɪs/ (Show IPA), noun

Synonyms

1. outline, précis. Summary, brief, digest, synopsis are terms for a short version of a longer work. A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument. A digest is an abridgement of an article, book, etc., or an organized arrangement of material under heads and titles: a digest of a popular novel; a digest of Roman law. A synopsis is usually a compressed statement of the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a synopsis of Hamlet. 2. short, condensed, compact, succinct. 3. curt, terse, peremptory.

Examples from the web for summary

Ideas are generated in weekly development meetings and are fleshed out into a short summary by an editor.
The abstract contains a short summary of articles, the first line of a poem, or the caption and description of a cartoon.
My compliments to the author of this well-written summary for capturing the main points of my article.
Practice parameter for electrodiagnostic studies in carpal tunnel syndrome: summary statement.
For those of you who aren't subscribers, there's a summary of the article after the jump.
Please look at more evidence than is contained in this summary article before drawing a conclusion.
Their findings are included in an extensive executive summary.
It was actually not much longer than this incomplete summary.
Be sure to include a summary of your community's cultural make-up and add a caption for each picture.
The chapters that groups produce should include a written summary of their findings, including answers to the questions above.

British Dictionary definitions for summary

summary

/ˈsʌmərɪ/

noun (pl) -maries

a brief account giving the main points of something

adjective (usually prenominal)

performed arbitrarily and quickly, without formality: a summary execution

(of legal proceedings) short and free from the complexities and delays of a full trial

summary jurisdiction, the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings

giving the gist or essence

Derived Forms

summarily, adverb
summariness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin summārium, from summasum1

Word Origin and History for summary

adj.

early 15c., from Medieval Latin summarius "of or pertaining to the sum or substance," from Latin summa "whole, gist" (see sum). Sense of "done promptly" is first found 1713. The noun meaning "a summary statement or account" is first recorded c.1500, from Latin summarium "an epitome, abstract, summary," from summa "totality, gist."