Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

neume

/n(j)um/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
neume
IPA
/n(j)um/
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of a set of signs used in early musical notation.

noun

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *pnew-, newme, neume, neuma, νεῦμα

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /n(j)um/
  • British English: /njuːm/

Inflected Forms

neumes (plural) neum (alternative) neuma (alternative) pneume (alternative)

Derived Forms

neumic

Rhymes With

home room whom assume bathroom boom costume resume fixing room packing room bloom locker room

Questions

How do you pronounce neume?
The recorded pronunciation is /n(j)um/.
What does neume mean?
Any of a set of signs used in early musical notation.
Where does neume come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce neume

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “neume”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/n(j)um/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “neume”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “neume” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.