A short syllable in classical poetry, or in anatomy, any of several short muscles; also used in musical notation.
From Latin 'brevis' meaning short. In classical prosody, it marked short vowel sounds; in anatomy, it became a descriptor for muscles (like 'adductor brevis'). The term has remained unchanged from Latin.
In Latin poetry, you had to count syllables like a musician counts beats—a brevis was the short beat, the unstressed syllable you'd rush through.
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