An epitome or compendium of another and larger work, wherein the principal ideas of the larger work are summarily contained. Abridgments of the law are brief digests of the law, arranged alphabetically. The oldest are those of Fitzherbert, Brooke, and Rolle; the more modern those of Viner, Comyns, and Bacon. (1 Steph. Comm. 51.) The term “digest” has now supplanted that of “abridgment.” Sweet.