Neume
//njuːm// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of a set of signs used in early musical notation.
- 2 A sequence of notes to be sung to one syllable.
Etymology
From 15th c. Middle English newme, nevme, neme; from Middle French neume, in turn from Medieval Latin neuma or pneuma, either from Ancient Greek νεῦμα (neûma, “sign”), or else a corruption of πνεῦμα (pneûma, “breath”). In the latter case a doublet of pneuma.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.