brevis

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbrɛ.wɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbrɛː.vis]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus. Cognates include Ancient Greek βραχύς (brakhús), English merry, Sanskrit मुहु (muhu).

Adjective

brevis (neuter breve, comparative brevior, superlative brevissimus, adverb breviter); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. (of distance) short, small, little, narrow
2. (of time) brief, short
3. (of height or depth) short, low, shallow
4. (phonology, of a syllable) short

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	brevis	breve		brevēs	brevia
genitive	brevis			brevium
dative	brevī			brevibus
accusative	brevem	breve		brevīs brevēs	brevia
ablative	brevī			brevibus
vocative	brevis	breve		brevēs	brevia

Synonyms

• (distance): parvus
• (time): parvus

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “distance, time”): longus
• (antonym(s) of “height”): altus

Derived terms

• amphibrevis
• bibrevis
• brevī
• breviculus
• brevigerulus
• breviloquēns
• breviloquium
• breviloquus
• breviō
• brevitas
• breviter
• brūma
• perbrevis
• subbrevis
• tribrevis

Related terms

• breviārium
• breviārius
• breviātiō
• breviātor

Descendants

• Gallo-Italic
  • Ligurian: brêve
• Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italian: breve
    • → Romanian: brevă
• Old French: brief, bref
  • Middle French: brief
    • French: bref
  • → Middle English: bref, breef, breve, brefe, breefe
    • English: brief, breve
    • Scots: brief, brieve, breef, briefe
• Old Occitan: breu
  • Occitan: brèu
• Rhaeto-Romance
  • Romansh: brev, breav (Sutsilvan)
• West Iberian
  • Old Galician-Portuguese:
    • Galician: breve
    • Portuguese: breve
  • Old Spanish:
    • Spanish: breve
• → Dutch: breve
• → German: Breve
• → Proto-West Germanic: *brēf (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

Short for brevis liber.

Noun

brevis m (genitive brevis); third declension

2. (Late Latin) short catalog, summary

   Synonym: breviārium

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	brevis	brevēs
genitive	brevis	brevium
dative	brevī	brevibus
accusative	brevem	brevēs brevīs
ablative	breve	brevibus
vocative	brevis	brevēs

Etymology 3

Short for brevis syllaba.

Noun

brevis f (genitive brevis); third declension

1. dactyl

   Synonym: dactylus

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	brevis	brevēs
genitive	brevis	brevium
dative	brevī	brevibus
accusative	brevem	brevēs brevīs
ablative	breve	brevibus
vocative	brevis	brevēs

Etymology 4

Noun

brevis f (genitive brevis); third declension

1. (orthography, printing) breve
2. (music) breve (British), whole note (US)
   • d. 1369 CE, Simon Tunsted (attributed), Quattuor principalia musicae 256b, (as cited in "brevis", Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources):

     que quidem notule alique vocantur longe et alique breves

     Among these notes, some are called "longae" and others "breves".

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	brevis	brevēs
genitive	brevis	brevium
dative	brevī	brevibus
accusative	brevem	brevēs brevīs
ablative	breve	brevibus
vocative	brevis	brevēs

Descendants

• English: breve
• Italian: breve

Further reading

• “brevis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “brevis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "brevis", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “brevis”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • for a short time: brevis or exigui temporis