semibreve

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

noun

, Music (chiefly British).

1. a note half the length of a breve; whole note.

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 namewhole note See also breve

Word History and Origins

Origin of semibreve¹

First recorded in 1585–95; semi- + breve

Example Sentences

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

The last note of the exercise, which was printed as a dotted minim, has been changed to a semibreve.

From Project Gutenberg