breve

[ breev, brev ]

noun

1. Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (˘) over a vowel to show that it is short, or to indicate a specific pronunciation, as ŭ in (kŭt) cut.
2. Law.
   1. an initial writ.
   2. a writ, as one issued by a court of law.
3. Music.
   1. the longest modern note, equivalent to two semibreves or whole notes.
   2. Also brev·is []. a note in medieval mensural notation equal to one-half or one-third of a longa.
4. Prosody. a mark ( ˘ ) over a syllable to show that it is not stressed.

breve

/ briːv /

noun

1. an accent, (˘), placed over a vowel to indicate that it is of short duration or is pronounced in a specified way
2. music a note, now rarely used, equivalent in time value to two semibreves
3. RC Church a less common word for brief

Word History and Origins

Origin of breve¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin, Latin breve, neuter of brevis short; brief

Word History and Origins

Origin of breve¹

C13: from Medieval Latin breve , from Latin brevis short; see brief

Example Sentences

One in particular, called B. breve, could help babies make the most of nutrients in breast milk and ward off bugs, preliminary tests suggest.

From BBC

His breve bid for the presidency will restore in the United States the ideals of Athenian democracy — or at least give us a good Greek yogurt parfait.

From Washington Post

The babies were given either the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve or a placebo.

From US News

These missae breves, or short Masses, as Protestant churches used them in Bach’s time, retained only the Kyrie and Gloria of the Roman Catholic Mass, stopping short of the Credo for obvious reasons.

From New York Times

Before him on the sheet was half a line of breves and semibreves, which Nancy remembered from her childhood as little men getting over stiles.

From Project Gutenberg