neume

[ noom, nyoom ]

noun

1. 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.

neume

/ njuːm /

noun

1. music one of a series of notational symbols used before the 14th century

Derived Forms

• ˈneumic, adjective

Other Words From

• neu·mat·ic [noo-, mat, -ik, nyoo-], neumic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of neume¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin neuma < Greek pneûma breath

Word History and Origins

Origin of neume¹

C15: from Medieval Latin neuma group of notes sung on one breath, from Greek pneuma breath

Example Sentences

The tone suffered in consequence, being uncertain, rough and tremulous, wherefore it was indicated by the neume known as quilisma: “Est vox tremula; sicut est sonus flatus tubae vel cornu et designatur per neumam, quae vocatur quilisma.”

From Project Gutenberg

Neume, nūm, n. a succession of notes to be sung to one syllable, a sequence: an old sign for a tone or a phrase.

From Project Gutenberg

The clefs at the beginning of the staffs are of course simply altered forms of the letters F, C, and G, which were written at first by Guido and others to make the old neume notation more definite.

From Project Gutenberg

Neume notation was used mostly in connection with the "plain-song melodies" of the Church, and since the words of these chants were sung as they would be pronounced in reading, the deficiency of the neume system in not expressing definite duration values was not felt.

From Project Gutenberg

Here then we observe the greatest weakness of the neume system—its lack of uniformity and its consequent inability accurately to express musical ideas for universal interpretation.

From Project Gutenberg