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A single continuous stroke standing for a whole word in a shorthand system.
Also known as: Shorthand, Stenography, Shorthand symbol, Brachygraphy
A shorthand outline is the mark written for one word: a single continuous stroke, or a short group of them, produced without lifting the pen. Shorthand systems are phonetic rather than orthographic — they record the sounds of a word rather than its spelling — which is why an outline cannot be read letter by letter and why homophones share one form. What distinguishes the major systems is what they use to carry information: thickness, position, angle, or the length of the stroke.
Is phonetic rather than orthographic. An outline records the sounds of a word and not its spelling, so it cannot be read letter by letter and homophones share a single form — which is also why shorthand cannot be transcribed mechanically without context.
A single sweeping stroke, straight or curved, written on or across a ruled line, sometimes with small dots or ticks placed beside it.
Pitman is one of the systems that produce outlines.