1510s, "make shorter;" 1560s, "grow shorter," from short (adj.) + -en (1); the earlier form of the verb was simply short, from Old English sceortian "to grow short, become short; run short, fail," gescyrtan "to make short."
例文
1. As they shorten ,cells become more prone to disease and death.
細胞は小さくなると病気に感染しやすくなり、死亡しやすくなる。
2. Her father paid £1,000 for an operation to shorten her nose.
彼女の父は1000ポンドをかけて鼻を削る手術をした。
3.When the days shorten in winter some people suffer depression.