ars longa, vita brevis

[ahrs lohng-gah wee-tah bre-wis; English ahrz lawng-guh vahy-tuh bree-vis, brev-is, vee-tuh, ahrs]

Latin.

art is long, life is short.

breve

[breev, brev]

noun

a mark (˘) over a vowel to show that it is short, or to indicate a specific pronunciation, as ŭ in (kŭt) cut.
Law.
1. an initial writ.
2. a writ, as one issued by a court of law.
Music.
1. the longest modern note, equivalent to two semibreves or whole notes.
2. Also brevis.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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brevis

Historical Examples of brevis

Brevipes is from brevis, short; pes, foot; so called because of its short stem.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
But soles are not 'lights,' and brevis lux is not 'brief candle.'
The Valet's Tragedy and Other Stories
Andrew Lang
Rhetorica brevis, and was printed at Oxford in 1616 by Joseph Barnes.
Notes and Queries, Number 222, January 28, 1854
Various
But "brevis esse laboro;" we were alone, and I resolved to propose.
A Little Tour In Ireland
S. Reynolds Hole
Quam gratiam voluit Sanctitas Sua perpetuo suffragari absque ulla Brevis expeditione.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, February, 1865
Various

British Dictionary definitions for brevis

breve

noun

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)

Word Origin for breve

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

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

Word Origin and History for brevis

breve

mid-15c., musical notation indicating two whole notes, from Latin breve (adj.) "short" in space or time (see brief (adj.)). The grammatical curved line placed over a vowel to indicate "shortness" (1540s) is from the same source.