Brève

Brève is a term in French with several related but distinct uses. As an adjective, brève is the feminine form of bref and means short or concise. It applies to duration, statements, or summaries: for example, une pause brève (a brief pause) or une explication brève (a concise explanation). The masculine form is bref; the plural is brèves.

As a noun, une brève refers to a short news item or brief dispatch, typically published in newspapers or broadcast media. Brèves are designed to convey essential information quickly and may be presented in headlines or sidebars; they often include the date and source.

In etymology, brève comes from Latin brevis, meaning short. The term is cognate with English “brief” and with equivalents in other Romance languages, reflecting the same root.

In music, the term breve denotes a double whole note, a note value used in historical notation. The musical sense is usually written as breve and is etymologically related to the same root, but it is a separate use from the adjectival and nominal senses tied to length or brevity in text.