breve

[ breev, brev ]

noun
  1. Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (˘) over a vowel to show that it is short, or to indicate a specific pronunciation, as ŭ in (kŭt) cut.

  2. Law.

    • an initial writ.

    • a writ, as one issued by a court of law.

  1. 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.

  2. Prosody. a mark (˘) over a syllable to show that it is not stressed.

Origin of breve

1
1250–1300; Middle English <Medieval Latin, Latin breve, neuter of brevis short; see brief

Words Nearby breve

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British Dictionary definitions for breve

breve

/ (briːv) /


noun
  1. an accent, (˘), placed over a vowel to indicate that it is of short duration or is pronounced in a specified way

  2. music a note, now rarely used, equivalent in time value to two semibreves

  1. RC Church a less common word for brief (def. 7)

Origin of breve

1
C13: from Medieval Latin breve, from Latin brevis short; see brief

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