Pronunciation: [bɹˈiːv] (IPA) 
The word "breve" is spelled with five letters, but it is pronounced differently than it appears. In IPA phonetic transcription, it is pronounced /brɛv/ which means it has a short "e" sound followed by a "v" sound. The word is derived from Latin and it means "short" or "brief." While it may seem like a simple word to spell, it can be easily confused with other similarly spelled words such as "brave" or "breath."
Breve, pronounced "breev," is a noun that has multiple meanings in different contexts.
In music notation, a breve is a symbol representing a note that lasts for twice the duration of a whole note or semibreve. It is occasionally used in modern notation, but more commonly found in medieval and Renaissance music. The symbol for a breve consists of an oval shape with a vertical line through it.
In linguistics, breve refers to a short vowel sound found in certain languages. It is represented by a diacritical mark placed above a vowel, resembling a small arch. This mark indicates that the vowel sound is pronounced for a shorter duration than its regular counterpart.
Breve can also refer to a short-lived pause or respite in activity. Used in this sense, it describes a brief moment or intermission of time. For example, one might say, "Let's take a breve before we continue with our work."
Outside of these specialized contexts, the word "breve" is an adjective that means brief or short in duration. It refers to something that is not lengthy or long-lasting. For example, one might describe a summary or an explanation as a "breve overview" to indicate that it is concise and to the point.
Overall, "breve" is a versatile word that can be used to describe a musical note, a linguistic mark, a short pause, or to refer to something that is brief or concise.
A figure that marks the longest sound in music.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "breve" has its origin in the Latin language. It comes from the Latin word "brevis", which means "short" or "brief". In Latin, "breve" was used to refer to a short syllable in poetry or music, as well as to denote a written or printed mark indicating that a syllable should be short. This sense of "breve" as a musical note or a notation indicating a short duration has carried over into modern music notation systems. Additionally, the word "breve" is also used in English to refer to a written summary or synopsis, which reflects its original meaning of something short or concise.
