semibreve

[ sem-ee-breev, -brev, sem-ahy- ]

nounMusic (chiefly British).
  1. a note half the length of a breve; whole note.

Origin of semibreve

1
First recorded in 1585–95; semi- + breve

Words Nearby semibreve

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How to use semibreve in a sentence

  • He was thoughtfully painting the face of another semibreve and making it large and black.

    The Devourers | Annie Vivanti Chartres
  • So much is Don Zuniga, her father, that he does not know a semibreve from a culverin!

  • Beginning at the 1st complete bar, and reckoning one step to each semibreve—1.

    Shakespeare and Music | Edward W. Naylor
  • The dotted minim value of this corresponds with the semibreve value of the other.

    Shakespeare and Music | Edward W. Naylor
  • The last note of the exercise, which was printed as a dotted minim, has been changed to a semibreve.

    Advice to Singers | Frederick James Crowest

British Dictionary definitions for semibreve

semibreve

/ (ˈsɛmɪˌbriːv) /


noun
  1. music a note, now the longest in common use, having a time value that may be divided by any power of 2 to give all other notes: Usual US and Canadian name: whole note See also breve (def. 2)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012