Briefcase
nounA flat, rectangular case with a handle, used for carrying documents, papers, and a laptop.
How to spell briefcase
9 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce briefcase
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does briefcase mean?
- nounA flat, rectangular case with a handle, used for carrying documents, papers, and a laptop.
Briefcase in a sentence
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He packed the signed contracts into his leather briefcase.
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She left her briefcase on the train, along with the quarterly report inside it.
Where does briefcase come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word is a compound of 'brief' and 'case'. The 'brief' part traces back to the Latin brevis, meaning 'short', which passed through Old French as 'bref' and entered English by the 1300s. In legal use a 'brief' came to mean a short written summary of the facts of a case, and lawyers needed something to carry these documents in. 'Case' comes from the Latin capsa, a box or chest for holding things, by way of Old French 'casse'. The two words joined in the early twentieth century to name the flat, hinged document holder, and the spelling holds the familiar 'ie' of brief intact.
How the word is built
- brief (from Latin brevis: short; here meaning a short document or legal papers)
- case (a container)
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