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semibreve

[sem-ee-breev, -brev, sem-ahy-]
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noun Music (chiefly British ).
  1. a note half the length of a breve; whole note.

Origin of semibreve

First recorded in 1585–95; semi- + breve
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for semibreve

Historical Examples

  • So much is Don Zuniga, her father, that he does not know a semibreve from a culverin!

    A Bold Stroke for a Husband

    Hannah Cowley

  • There was also a semibreve, a diamond-shaped note which was used when two or more tones were sung to one syllable.

  • 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

  • The dotted minim value of this corresponds with the semibreve value of the other.

    Shakespeare and Music

    Edward W. Naylor

British Dictionary definitions for semibreve

semibreve

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 notesUsual 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