‖ neuma Mus.
(ˈnjuːmə)
Pl. ˈneumata, ˈneumæ.
[med.L.]
= neume.
| 1776 Hawkins Hist. Music I. 345 Neuma.. signifies an aggregation of as many sounds as may be uttered in one single respiration. 1782 Burney Hist. Music II. 172 The Neuma or recapitulation of a chant at the end of an anthem. 1848 Müller tr. Kiesewetter's Hist. Mus. 281 In choral chants by Neuma is understood a melodious phrase at the end of verse. Ibid. 380 The Neumata, in which the oldest Chant-books of the Latin Church now extant are noted, consist of points, little hooks, strokes, and flourishes, in different shapes and directions. 1880 Grove's Dict. Mus. II. 468/1 The Neumæ did..shew at a glance the general conformation of the Melody they were supposed to illustrate. 1886 Rockstro Hist. Music 31 Every Neuma placed upon the red line was understood to represent the note F. |
| attrib. 1879 Ritter Hist. Music (1880) 33 The oldest neumæ manuscripts do not reach farther back than the end of the 8th century. |