[briːv], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a note, rarely used in modern music, having the time value of two semibreves, and represented as a semibreve with two short bars either side, or as a square

- a written or printed mark (˘) indicating a short or unstressed vowel

- an authoritative letter from a pope or monarch


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: variant of brief. In the musical sense, the term was originally used in a series where a long was of greater time value than a breve