semibreve

[ sem-ee-breev, -brev, sem-ahy- ]
/ ˈsɛm iˌbriv, -ˌbrɛv, ˈsɛm aɪ- /

noun Music (chiefly British ).

a note half the length of a breve; whole note.

Origin of semibreve

First recorded in 1585–95; semi- + breve

Words nearby semibreve

semiautonomous, semiautonomy, semibasement, semibituminous coal, semibold, semibreve, semicanal, semicentenary, semicentennial, semicircle, semicircular canal

Example sentences from the Web for semibreve

  • The last note of the exercise, which was printed as a dotted minim, has been changed to a semibreve.

    Advice to Singers |Frederick James Crowest

  • So much is Don Zuniga, her father, that he does not know a semibreve from a culverin!

    A Bold Stroke for a Husband |Hannah Cowley

  • The dotted minim value of this corresponds with the semibreve value of the other.

    Shakespeare and Music |Edward W. Naylor

  • There was also a semibreve, a diamond-shaped note which was used when two or more tones were sung to one syllable.

    A Popular History of the Art of Music |W. S. B. Mathews

British Dictionary definitions for semibreve

semibreve
/ (ˈsɛmɪˌbriːv) /

noun

music a note, now the longest in common use, having a time value that may be divided by any power of 2 to give all other notes Usual US and Canadian name: whole note See also breve (def. 2)