Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BRE'VI-A-RY, n. [Fr. breviaire; L. breviarium, from brevis, short. See Brief.]

1. An abridgment; a compend; an epitome. – Ayliffe.
2. A book containing the daily service of the Romish church. It is composed of matins, lauds, first, third, sixth and ninth vespers, and the compline or post communio. The Greeks also have a breviary. – Encyc.