Breve
/briːv/noun
A breve is a diacritical mark (˘) indicating a short vowel, or a musical note formerly worth two semibreves.
Did you know?The musical breve was named from the same Latin root as “brief,” because in medieval notation it represented a relatively short note value before rhythm systems evolved.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
brevis
“short, brief”
Late Latin
Latin
breve
“a short thing; a brief note or written mark”
Old French
Old French
brève
“short; brief”
14th-15th Century
English
breve
“a short musical note value”
Modern English
English
breve
“a diacritical mark indicating a short vowel, or a musical note value”
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