diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 328d95ce7..b0dd065f1 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ New configuration options in taskwarrior 2.0.0
   - New 'exit.on.missing.db' control causes an exit if the ~/.task directory
     (or override) is missing.
   - New 'color.completed' and 'color.deleted' color rules.
+  - New 'abbreviation.minimum' setting controls how short an abbreviated
+    command or value may be.
 
 Newly deprecated features in taskwarrior 2.0.0
 
diff --git a/doc/man/taskrc.5.in b/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
index 64cfecc76..e1a2f70a0 100644
--- a/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
+++ b/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
@@ -387,6 +387,11 @@ of the longer-term rate.  The calculation is as follows:
 
     rate = (long-term-rate * (1 - bias)) + (short-term-rate * bias)
 
+.TP
+.B abbreviation.minimum=2
+Minimum length of any abbreviated command/value.  This means that "ve", "ver",
+"vers", "versi", "versio" will all equate to "version", but "v" will not.
+Default is 2.
 .TP
 .B debug=off
 Taskwarrior has a debug mode that causes diagnostic output to be displayed.
diff --git a/src/Arguments.cpp b/src/Arguments.cpp
index b793021f3..cbc7de062 100644
--- a/src/Arguments.cpp
+++ b/src/Arguments.cpp
@@ -798,7 +798,10 @@ bool Arguments::is_command (
   std::string& command)
 {
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  if (autoComplete (command, keywords, matches) == 1)
+  if (autoComplete (command,
+                    keywords,
+                    matches,
+                    context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
   {
     command = matches[0];
     return true;
@@ -1090,7 +1093,10 @@ bool Arguments::is_attribute (const std::string& input, std::string& canonical)
   }
 
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  autoComplete (input, candidates, matches);
+  autoComplete (input,
+                candidates,
+                matches,
+                context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
 
   if (matches.size () == 1)
   {
@@ -1116,7 +1122,10 @@ bool Arguments::is_modifier (const std::string& input)
   }
 
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  autoComplete (input, candidates, matches);
+  autoComplete (input,
+                candidates,
+                matches,
+                context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
 
   if (matches.size () == 1)
     return true;
diff --git a/src/Att.cpp b/src/Att.cpp
index 3f81dc633..536b2e632 100644
--- a/src/Att.cpp
+++ b/src/Att.cpp
@@ -301,7 +301,10 @@ bool Att::validNameValue (
     candidates.push_back (modifiableNames[i]);
 
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  autoComplete (name, candidates, matches);
+  autoComplete (name,
+                candidates,
+                matches,
+                context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
 
   if (matches.size () == 0)
     return false;
@@ -327,7 +330,10 @@ bool Att::validNameValue (
       candidates.push_back (modifierNames[i]);
 
     matches.clear ();
-    autoComplete (mod, candidates, matches);
+    autoComplete (mod,
+                  candidates,
+                  matches,
+                  context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
 
     if (matches.size () == 0)
       throw std::string ("Unrecognized modifier '") + mod + "'.";
@@ -454,7 +460,10 @@ bool Att::validNameValue (
     candidates.push_back ("deleted");
     candidates.push_back ("recurring");
     candidates.push_back ("waiting");
-    autoComplete (value, candidates, matches);
+    autoComplete (value,
+                  candidates,
+                  matches,
+                  context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
 
     if (matches.size () == 1)
       value = matches[0];
diff --git a/src/Config.cpp b/src/Config.cpp
index 1edd2328b..ccdb8beb1 100644
--- a/src/Config.cpp
+++ b/src/Config.cpp
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ std::string Config::defaults =
   "expressions=on                                 # Support for algebraic expressions\n"
   "patterns=on                                    # Support for regex patterns\n"
   "json.array=off                                 # Enclose JSON output in [ ]\n"
+  "abbreviation.minimum=2                         # Shortest allowed abbreviation\n"
   "\n"
   "# Dates\n"
   "dateformat=m/d/Y                               # Preferred input and display date format\n"
diff --git a/src/DOM.cpp b/src/DOM.cpp
index ff3600ed7..bb4f89a1e 100644
--- a/src/DOM.cpp
+++ b/src/DOM.cpp
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 
 #define L10N                                           // Localization complete.
 
-#include <iostream> // TODO Remove
 #include <sstream>
 #include <Context.h>
 #include <Nibbler.h>
@@ -192,16 +191,16 @@ const std::string DOM::get (const std::string& name)
 //   TODO <uuid>.recur
 //   TODO <uuid>.depends
 //
-//   {.entry,.start,.end,.due,.until,.wait}
-//   .description
-//   .project
-//   .priority
-//   .parent
-//   .status
-//   .tags
-//   .urgency
-//   .recur
-//   .depends
+//   {entry,start,end,due,until,wait}
+//   description
+//   project
+//   priority
+//   parent
+//   status
+//   tags
+//   urgency
+//   recur
+//   depends
 //
 const std::string DOM::get (const std::string& name, const Task& task)
 {
@@ -295,7 +294,6 @@ bool DOM::is_literal (std::string& input)
   if (Date::valid (input, context.config.get ("dateformat")))
   {
     input = Date (input).toEpochString ();
-    std::cout << "# DOM::is_literal '" << input << "' --> date\n";
     return true;
   }
 
@@ -323,7 +321,6 @@ bool DOM::is_literal (std::string& input)
   if (n.getInt (i) && n.depleted ())
     return true;
 
-//  std::cout << "# DOM::is_literal '" << input << "' --> unknown\n";
   return false;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/Date.cpp b/src/Date.cpp
index 47024f1a4..a50ac70fa 100644
--- a/src/Date.cpp
+++ b/src/Date.cpp
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 
 #define L10N                                           // Localization complete.
 
+#include <iostream> // TODO Remove.
 #include <iomanip>
 #include <sstream>
 #include <time.h>
@@ -175,17 +176,18 @@ void Date::toMDY (int& m, int& d, int& y)
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-const std::string Date::toString (const std::string& format /*= "m/d/Y" */) const
+const std::string Date::toString (
+  const std::string& format /*= "m/d/Y" */) const
 {
-  // Making this local copy seems to fix a bug.  Remove the local copy and you'll
-  // see segmentation faults and all kinds of gibberish.
+  // Making this local copy seems to fix a bug.  Remove the local copy and
+  // you'll see segmentation faults and all kinds of gibberish.
   std::string localFormat = format;
 
   char buffer[12];
   std::string formatted;
   for (unsigned int i = 0; i < localFormat.length (); ++i)
   {
-    char c = localFormat[i];
+    int c = localFormat[i];
     switch (c)
     {
     case 'm': sprintf (buffer, "%d",   this->month ());                        break;
@@ -794,8 +796,9 @@ bool Date::isRelativeDate (const std::string& input)
   supported.push_back ("later");
   supported.push_back ("someday");
 
+  // Hard-coded 3, despite rc.abbreviation.minimum.
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  if (autoComplete (in, supported, matches) == 1)
+  if (autoComplete (in, supported, matches, 3) == 1)
   {
     std::string found = matches[0];
 
diff --git a/src/Duration.cpp b/src/Duration.cpp
index 15e91c749..0d427fa12 100644
--- a/src/Duration.cpp
+++ b/src/Duration.cpp
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <Context.h>
 #include <text.h>
 #include <util.h>
 #include <i18n.h>
@@ -91,6 +92,8 @@ static const char* durations[] =
 
 #define NUM_DURATIONS   (sizeof (durations)   / sizeof (durations[0]))
 
+extern Context context;
+
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Duration::Duration ()
 : mSecs (0)
@@ -339,7 +342,10 @@ bool Duration::valid (const std::string& input)
     supported.push_back (durations[i]);
 
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  if (autoComplete (units, supported, matches) == 1)
+  if (autoComplete (units,
+                    supported,
+                    matches,
+                    context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
     return true;
 
   return false;
@@ -376,7 +382,10 @@ void Duration::parse (const std::string& input)
 
   mSecs = 0;
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  if (autoComplete (units, supported, matches) == 1)
+  if (autoComplete (units,
+                    supported,
+                    matches,
+                    context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
   {
     std::string match = matches[0];
 
diff --git a/src/Expression.cpp b/src/Expression.cpp
index 9d3b3b075..fffb98b52 100644
--- a/src/Expression.cpp
+++ b/src/Expression.cpp
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ void Expression::eval (const Task& task, std::vector <Variant>& value_stack)
         right._raw_type = value_stack.back ()._raw_type;
       }
       value_stack.pop_back ();
-//      std::cout << "# right raw=" << right._raw << " type=" << right._type << " value=" << right._string << "\n";
+//      std::cout << "# right variant " << right.dump () << "\n";
 
       // lvalue (dom).
       Variant left (value_stack.back ());
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ void Expression::eval (const Task& task, std::vector <Variant>& value_stack)
         left._raw_type = value_stack.back ()._raw_type;
       }
       value_stack.pop_back ();
-//      std::cout << "# left raw=" << left._raw << " type=" << left._type << " value=" << left._string << "\n";
+//      std::cout << "# left variant " << left.dump () << "\n";
 
       // Now the binary operators.
       if (arg->_first == "and")
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ void Expression::create_variant (
   const std::string& value,
   const std::string& type)
 {
-//  std::cout << "# operand '" << value << "' as " << type << "\n";
+//  std::cout << "# create_variant " << value << "/" << type << "\n";
 
   // DOM references are not resolved until the operator is processed.  This
   // preserves the original name, which helps determine how to apply the
diff --git a/src/Variant.cpp b/src/Variant.cpp
index 5c186f126..fae6cf587 100644
--- a/src/Variant.cpp
+++ b/src/Variant.cpp
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ Variant::Variant ()
 : _type (v_unknown)
 , _raw ("")
 , _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (0)
 {
 }
 
@@ -66,44 +72,86 @@ Variant::Variant (const Variant& other)
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const bool input)
+: _type (v_boolean)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (input)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (0)
 {
-  _type = v_boolean;
-  _bool = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const int input)
+: _type (v_integer)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (input)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (0)
 {
-  _type = v_integer;
-  _integer = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const double& input)
+: _type (v_double)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (input)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (0)
 {
-  _type = v_double;
-  _double = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const std::string& input)
+: _type (v_string)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string (input)
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (0)
 {
-  _type = v_string;
-  _string = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const Date& input)
+: _type (v_date)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (input)
+, _duration (0)
 {
-  _type = v_date;
-  _date = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 Variant::Variant (const Duration& input)
+: _type (v_duration)
+, _raw ("")
+, _raw_type ("")
+, _bool (false)
+, _integer (0)
+, _double (0.0)
+, _string ("")
+, _date (0)
+, _duration (input)
 {
-  _type = v_duration;
-  _duration = input;
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/src/commands/CmdCalendar.cpp b/src/commands/CmdCalendar.cpp
index 101437fd3..e216ce728 100644
--- a/src/commands/CmdCalendar.cpp
+++ b/src/commands/CmdCalendar.cpp
@@ -123,11 +123,11 @@ int CmdCalendar::execute (std::string& output)
   for (arg = args.begin (); arg != args.end (); ++arg)
   {
     // Some version of "calendar".
-    if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), commandNames, matches) == 1)
+    if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), commandNames, matches, context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
       continue;
 
     // "due".
-    else if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), keywordNames, matches) == 1)
+    else if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), keywordNames, matches, context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
       getpendingdate = true;
 
     // "y".
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ int CmdCalendar::execute (std::string& output)
     }
 
     // "January" etc.
-    else if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), monthNames, matches) == 1)
+    else if (autoComplete (lowerCase (*arg), monthNames, matches, context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum")) == 1)
     {
       argMonth = Date::monthOfYear (matches[0]);
       if (argMonth == -1)
diff --git a/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp b/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
index a028e14d7..8eecf0f5f 100644
--- a/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
+++ b/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ int CmdShow::execute (std::string& output)
   // Note that there is a leading and trailing space, to make it easier to
   // search for whole words.
   std::string recognized =
+    " abbreviation.minimum"
     " active.indicator"
     " annotations"
     " avoidlastcolumn"
diff --git a/src/rules.cpp b/src/rules.cpp
index 0fdc7e570..fca01babb 100644
--- a/src/rules.cpp
+++ b/src/rules.cpp
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ void initializeColorRules ()
   {
     // Add the leading "color." string.
     std::string rule = "color." + *p;
-    autoComplete (rule, rules, results);
+    autoComplete (rule, rules, results, 3); // Hard-coded 3.
 
     std::vector <std::string>::iterator r;
     for (r = results.begin (); r != results.end (); ++r)
diff --git a/src/text.cpp b/src/text.cpp
index e53ddab88..a2b06eb58 100644
--- a/src/text.cpp
+++ b/src/text.cpp
@@ -482,7 +482,8 @@ void guess (
   std::string& candidate)
 {
   std::vector <std::string> matches;
-  autoComplete (candidate, options, matches);
+  autoComplete (candidate, options, matches,
+                context.config.getInteger ("abbreviation.minimum"));
   if (1 == matches.size ())
     candidate = matches[0];
 
diff --git a/src/util.cpp b/src/util.cpp
index beb374d11..72a4a1818 100644
--- a/src/util.cpp
+++ b/src/util.cpp
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ bool confirm (const std::string& question)
     std::getline (std::cin, answer);
     answer = std::cin.eof() ? STRING_UTIL_CONFIRM_NO : lowerCase (trim (answer));
 
-    autoComplete (answer, options, matches);
+    autoComplete (answer, options, matches, 1); // Hard-coded 1.
   }
   while (matches.size () != 1);
 
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ int confirm3 (const std::string& question)
 
     std::getline (std::cin, answer);
     answer = trim (answer);
-    autoComplete (answer, options, matches);
+    autoComplete (answer, options, matches, 1); // Hard-coded 1.
   }
   while (matches.size () != 1);
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ int confirm4 (const std::string& question)
 
     std::getline (std::cin, answer);
     answer = trim (answer);
-    autoComplete (answer, options, matches);
+    autoComplete (answer, options, matches, 1); // Hard-coded 1.
   }
   while (matches.size () != 1);
 
@@ -190,7 +190,8 @@ std::string formatBytes (size_t bytes)
 int autoComplete (
   const std::string& partial,
   const std::vector<std::string>& list,
-  std::vector<std::string>& matches)
+  std::vector<std::string>& matches,
+  int minimum/* = 2*/)
 {
   matches.clear ();
 
@@ -211,7 +212,8 @@ int autoComplete (
       }
 
       // Maintain a list of partial matches.
-      else if (length <= item->length () &&
+      else if (length >= (unsigned) minimum &&
+               length <= item->length ()    &&
                partial == item->substr (0, length))
         matches.push_back (*item);
     }
diff --git a/src/util.h b/src/util.h
index 95db8e912..776d9479f 100644
--- a/src/util.h
+++ b/src/util.h
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ int confirm3 (const std::string&);
 int confirm4 (const std::string&);
 void delay (float);
 std::string formatBytes (size_t);
-int autoComplete (const std::string&, const std::vector<std::string>&, std::vector<std::string>&);
+int autoComplete (const std::string&, const std::vector<std::string>&, std::vector<std::string>&, int minimum = 1);
 
 #if defined(HAVE_UUID) && !defined(HAVE_UUID_UNPARSE_LOWER)
 void uuid_unparse_lower (uuid_t uu, char *out);