semiquaver

[ sem-ee-kwey-ver ]

/ ˈsɛm iˌkweɪ vər /

noun Music (chiefly British ).

a sixteenth note.

Nearby words

Origin of semiquaver

First recorded in 1570–80; semi- + quaver

Also called demiquaver.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for semiquaver

The breve and the semiquaver is, we must have the descant you made upon our names, ere you depart.
The Works of John Marston|John Marston
And as the preceding Semiquaver rang a handbell, this shaked the sprinkle with his fist.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.|Francois Rabelais

British Dictionary definitions for semiquaver

semiquaver

/ (ˈsɛmɪˌkweɪvə) /

noun

music a note having the time value of one-sixteenth of a semibreveUsual US and Canadian name: sixteenth note

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 semiquaver

semiquaver

"sixteenth-note," 1570s, from semi- + quaver (n.).