'abbrev.' ultimately originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'abbreviare' (from 'ad-' + 'brevis'), where 'ad-' meant 'to/toward' and 'brevis' meant 'short'.

'abbrev.' developed from Late Latin 'abbreviatio' (noun) and through Old/Anglo-French forms such as 'abrevier'/'abreviar' into Middle English forms related to 'abbreviation', and finally became the modern English written short form 'abbrev.' used to mark an abbreviation.

Initially the root verbs meant 'to make short'; over time the noun form came to mean 'a shortened form' and now commonly refers to the shortened written form of a word or phrase.