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semiquaver

[ sem-ee-kwey-ver ]
/ ˈsɛm iˌkweɪ vər /
|

noun Music (chiefly British ).

a sixteenth note.

Nearby words

semiprivate, semipro, semiprofessional, semipublic, semiquantitative, semiquaver, semiquinone, semiramis, semireligious, semirigid, semiround

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

n.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper