# breve

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹiːv/ · frequency rank #83,075

## Definitions
1. A semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel, commonly used to mark its quantity as short.
2. A double whole note; a note twice as long as a semibreve.
3. Any writ or precept under seal, issued out of any court.
4. A pitta, all of which have more or less short tails.

## Etymology
From Middle English breve, variant of bref, from Old French brieve, breve (feminine form of brief, bref), from Latin brevis (“short”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/breve