brevis

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈbre.u̯is/, [ˈbreu̯ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈbre.vis/, [ˈbrɛːvis]

• Audio (Classical):

  (file)

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.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	brevis	breve		brevēs	brevia
Genitive	brevis			brevium
Dative	brevī			brevibus
Accusative	brevem	breve		brevēs brevīs	brevia
Ablative	brevī			brevibus
Vocative	brevis	breve		brevēs	brevia

Synonyms

• (distance): parvus
• (time): parvus

Antonyms

• (distance, time): longus
• (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
• 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
  • Romansch: brev, breav (Sutsilvan)
• West Iberian
  • Old Galician-Portuguese:
    • Portuguese: breve
  • Old Spanish:
    • Spanish: breve

• → Dutch: breve
• → German: Breve
• → Middle Dutch: brief
  • Dutch: brief
    • Afrikaans: brief
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: brifu
    • Negerhollands: brief, brif
    • → Papiamentu: brifi (dated)
    • → Sranan Tongo: brifi
      • Aukan: biifi
      • Saramaccan: biífi
      • → Kari'na: brifi
  • Limburgish: breef
• → Old Frisian: brēf
  • North Frisian: briaf, bräif (Mooring)
  • West Frisian: brief
• → Old High German: briaf
  • Middle High German: brief
    • Bavarian: Briaf
    • Cimbrian: briif
    • German: Brief
    • Luxembourgish: Bréif
    • Yiddish: בריוו (briv)
• → Old Norse: bréf
  • Danish: brev
  • Faroese: bræv
  • Norwegian: brev
    • → Northern Sami: reive
  • Swedish: brev
• → Old Saxon: brēf
  • German Low German: Breev, Breef
    • Plautdietsch: Breef

Etymology 2

Short for brevis liber.

Noun

brevis m (genitive brevis); third declension

1. (Late Latin) short catalog, summary

   Synonym: breviārium

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

Case	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).

Case	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 ? (genitive brevis); third declension

1. (orthography, printing) breve
2. (music) breve (British), whole note (US)

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

Case	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

References

• “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’s 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