What does "abbreviation" mean?

Abbreviation: The result of abbreviating; an abridgment. Tylor.

Additional senses

  1. 2.The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America.
  2. 3.(Mus.) One dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers. Moore.

Sources