Both Uses of
brief
in
The Time Machine
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- Presently I noted that the sun belt swayed up and down, from solstice to solstice, in a minute or less, and that consequently my pace was over a year a minute; and minute by minute the white snow flashed across the world, and vanished, and was followed by the bright, brief green of spring.†
Chpt 3
- 'I grieved to think how brief the dream of the human intellect had been.†
Chpt 10 *
Definition:
-
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Brief is most commonly encountered as an adjective meaning "of short duration." Other meanings derive from the idea of short--as when making a long story short by summarizing it, or when wearing briefs (underwear).