neume
[ noom, nyoom ]
/ num, nyum /
noun
any of various symbols representing from one to four notes, used in the musical notation of the Middle Ages but now employed solely in the notation of Gregorian chant in the liturgical books of the Roman Catholic Church.
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Origin of neume
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin neuma < Greek pneûma breath
OTHER WORDS FROM neume
neu·mat·ic [noo-mat-ik, nyoo-] /nuˈmæt ɪk, nyu-/, neu·mic, adjectiveWords nearby neume
neufeld capsular swelling, neuilly, neuilly-sur-seine, neuk, neumann, neume, neumünster, neupest, neur-, neural, neural arch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for neume
Neume, nūm, n. a succession of notes to be sung to one syllable, a sequence: an old sign for a tone or a phrase.
The earliest form of notation of which we have any knowledge is called the Neume notation.
How Music Developed|W. J. Henderson
British Dictionary definitions for neume
neume
neum
/ (njuːm) /
noun
music one of a series of notational symbols used before the 14th century
Derived forms of neume
neumic, adjectiveWord Origin for neume
C15: from Medieval Latin neuma group of notes sung on one breath, from Greek pneuma breath
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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