semibreve

S1E1M3I1B3R1E1V4E1
/ˈsɛmɪbɹiːv/

noun

A musical note four beats long in 4/4 time; a whole note (US)

Similar
whole note
OriginItalian semibreve ← Latin semi- →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounsemibreve (plural semibreves)

plural semibreves

  1. CommonwealthIrelandUKentertainmentA musical note four beats long in 4/4 time; a whole note (US)

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna musical note having the longest time value (equal to four beats in common time)

Similar
whole note
Broader
notemusical notetone
Also see
whole note

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinbrevis“short”
  2. Latinsemi-“half”
  3. Italiansemibreve
  4. Englishsemibreve

From Italian semibreve, ultimately from Latin semi- (“half”) and Latin brevis (“short”).

More words from Italian, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مُسْتَدِيرَة
  • مُسْتَدِيرَة (mustadīra)whole note
Chinese Cantonese 全音符
  • 全音符 (cyun⁴ jam¹ fu⁴)whole note
Chinese Mandarin 全音符
  • 全音符 (quányīnfú)whole note
Dutch hele noot
  • hele nootwhole note
Esperanto karolo
  • karolowhole note
Finnish kokonuotti
  • kokonuottiwhole note
French ronde
  • rondewhole note
German ganze Note
  • ganze Notewhole note
Greek ολόκληρο
  • ολόκληρο (olókliro)whole note
Hindi एकमात्रिक
  • एकमात्रिक (ekmātrik)whole note
Hungarian egész
  • egészwhole note
Icelandic heilnóta
  • heilnótawhole note
Irish lán-nóta
  • lán-nótawhole note
Italian semibreve
  • semibrevewhole note
Japanese 全音符
  • 全音符 (zen’onpu)whole note
Korean 온음표
  • 온음표 (oneumpyo)whole note
Malay semibrif
  • semibrifwhole note
Māori orowhā
  • orowhāwhole note
Polish cała nuta
  • cała nutawhole note
Portuguese semibreve
  • semibrevewhole note
Russian це́лая но́та
  • це́лая но́та (célaja nóta)whole note
Scottish Gaelic punc cruinn
  • punc cruinnwhole note
Spanish semibreve, redonda
  • semibrevewhole note
  • redondawhole note
Swedish helnot
  • helnotwhole note
Vietnamese nốt tròn
  • nốt trònwhole note
Cite this entry
APA

semibreve. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semibreve

MLA

“semibreve.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semibreve. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semibreve,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semibreve.

Source: semibreve on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.