Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

semiquaver

[sem-ee-kwey-ver]
See more synonyms for semiquaver on Thesaurus.com
noun Music (chiefly British ).
  1. a sixteenth note.
Show More

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for semiquaver

Historical Examples

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for semiquaver

semiquaver

noun
  1. music a note having the time value of one-sixteenth of a semibreveUsual US and Canadian name: sixteenth note
Show More
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

n.

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

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper