short·hand / ˈshôrtˌhand/ • n. a method of rapid writing by means of abbreviations and symbols, used esp. for taking dictation.The major systems of shorthand are those devised in 1837 by Sir Isaac Pitman and in 1888 by John R. Gregg (1867–1948). ∎  [in sing.] a short and simple way of expressing or referring to something: poetry for him is simply a shorthand for literature that has aesthetic value.

Pitman shorthand a system invented by Isaac Pitman (1813–97), published as Stenographic Sound Hand (1837). Pitman shorthand is still widely used in the UK and elsewhere.