Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges

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[*] 3017. Brachylogy (βραχυλογία_ brevity of diction, abbreviated expres. sion or construction) is a concise form of expression by which an element is not repeated or is omitted when its repetition or use would make the thought or the grammatical construction complete. The suppressed element must be supplied from some corresponding word in the context, in which case it often appears with some change of form or construction; or it must be taken from the connection of the thought.

a. Brachylogy and ellipse cannot always be distinguished sharply. In ellipse the suppressed word is not to be supplied from a corresponding word in the context; and, in general, ellipse is less artificial and less dependent on the momentary and arbitrary will of the speaker or writer. Compendious Comparison (1501), Praegnans Constructio (3044), and Zeugma (3048) are forms of brachylogy.