breve
Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (˘) over a vowel to show that it is short, or to indicate a specific pronunciation, as ŭ in (kŭt) cut.
Law.
an initial writ.
a writ, as one issued by a court of law.
Music.
the longest modern note, equivalent to two semibreves or whole notes.
Also brev·is [bree-vis, brev-is] /ˈbri vɪs, ˈbrɛv ɪs/ . a note in medieval mensural notation equal to one-half or one-third of a longa.
Prosody. a mark (˘) over a syllable to show that it is not stressed.
Origin of breve
1Words Nearby breve
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use breve in a sentence
Combinations such as (y with breve and macron) or (o with under-dot and macron) may not display as intended in all browsers.
Vogler then gave Beethoven a theme of three measures (the scale of C major, alla breve).
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock ThayerAncora una breve salita, e poi ci sar sul pi alto pinacolo del Prato Fiorite.
He takes a breve rest, quavering with a minimum of divergent emotion in the effort to be natural.
The Nurserymatograph | A LawyerThe original text inconsistently uses a breve over the e in "Parthenia" and "Passameso."
Shakespeare and Music | Edward W. Naylor
British Dictionary definitions for breve
/ (briːv) /
an accent, (˘), placed over a vowel to indicate that it is of short duration or is pronounced in a specified way
music a note, now rarely used, equivalent in time value to two semibreves
RC Church a less common word for brief (def. 7)
Origin of breve
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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