breve (br?v, br?v)n.1. A symbol ( ? ) placed over a vowel to show that it has a short sound.2. A curved mark used to indicate a short or unstressed syllable of verse.3. Music A note equivalent to two whole notes.[Middle English, written communication, from Old French, from Medieval Latin, short syllable, from Latin, neuter of brevis, short; see brief.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.breve (bri?v) n1. (Phonetics & Phonology) an accent, (?), placed over a vowel to indicate that it is of short duration or is pronounced in a specified way2. (Music, other) music a note, now rarely used, equivalent in time value to two semibreves3. (Roman Catholic Church) RC Church a less common word for brief7[C13: from Medieval Latin breve, from Latin brevis short; see brief]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014breve (briv, br?v) n. 1. a mark (?) used over a vowel in some pronunciation systems to show that it is short, or to indicate a specific pronunciation. 2. this same mark used to indicate a short or unstressed syllable in prosody. 3. a musical note equivalent to two semibreves or whole notes. [1250?1300; Middle English