A neume (/ˈnjuːm/; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word entered the English language in the Middle English forms "newme", "nevme", "neme" in the 15th century, from the Middle French "neume", in turn from either medieval Latin "pneuma" or "neuma," the former either from ancient Greek πνεῦμα pneuma ("breath") or νεῦμα neuma ("sign"), or else directly from Greek as a corruption or an adaptation of the former.