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.
   1. an initial writ.
   2. a writ, as one issued by a court of law.
3. Music.
   1. the longest modern note, equivalent to two semibreves or whole notes.
   2. Also brev·is []. a note in medieval mensural notation equal to one-half or one-third of a longa.
4. Prosody. a mark ( ˘ ) over a syllable to show that it is not stressed.

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
3. See brief
   RC Church a less common word for brief

Word History and Origins

Origin of breve¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of breve¹

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

Example Sentences

Combinations such as (y with breve and macron) or (o with under-dot and macron) may not display as intended in all browsers.

From Project Gutenberg

Vogler then gave Beethoven a theme of three measures (the scale of C major, alla breve).

From Project Gutenberg

Ancora una breve salita, e poi ci sar sul pi alto pinacolo del Prato Fiorite.

From Project Gutenberg

He takes a breve rest, quavering with a minimum of divergent emotion in the effort to be natural.

From Project Gutenberg

The original text inconsistently uses a breve over the e in "Parthenia" and "Passameso."

From Project Gutenberg