oc·tave

(ŏk′tĭv, -tāv′)

1. Music

a. The interval of eight diatonic degrees between two tones of the same name, the higher of which has twice as many vibrations per second as the lower.

b. A tone that is eight diatonic degrees above or below another given tone.

c. Two tones eight diatonic degrees apart that are sounded together.

d. The consonance that results when two tones eight diatonic degrees apart are sounded.

e. A series of tones included within this interval or the keys of an instrument that produce such a series.

f. An organ stop that produces tones an octave above those usually produced by the keys played.

g. The interval between any two frequencies having a ratio of 2 to 1.

2. Ecclesiastical

a. The eighth day after a feast day, counting the feast day as one.

b. The entire period between a feast day and the eighth day following it.

3. A group or series of eight.

a. A group of eight lines of poetry, especially the first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet. Also called octet.

b. A poem or stanza containing eight lines.

5. Sports A rotating parry in fencing.

[Middle English, eighth day after a feast day, from Old French, from Medieval Latin octāva (diēs), from Latin, feminine of octāvus, eighth, from octō, eight; see oktō(u) in Indo-European roots.]

oc·ta′val (ŏk-tā′vəl, ŏk′tə-vəl) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

octave

(ˈɒktɪv)

1. (Music, other)

a. the interval between two musical notes one of which has twice the pitch of the other and lies eight notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale

b. one of these two notes, esp the one of higher pitch

c. (as modifier): an octave leap. See also perfect⁹, diminished², interval⁵

2. (Poetry) prosody a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse

3. (Ecclesiastical Terms)

a. a feast day and the seven days following

b. the final day of this period

4. (Fencing) the eighth of eight basic positions in fencing

5. any set or series of eight

adj

consisting of eight parts

[C14: (originally: eighth day) via Old French from Medieval Latin octāva diēs eighth day (after a festival), from Latin octo eight]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

oc•tave

(ˈɒk tɪv, -teɪv)

n.

a. a tone on the eighth degree from a given musical tone.

b. the interval encompassed by such tones.

c. the harmonic combination of such tones.

d. a series of tones, or of keys of an instrument, extending through this interval.

2. a series or group of eight.

a. a group of eight lines of verse, esp. the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form.

b. a stanza of eight lines.

a. the eighth day from a religious festival, counting the festival as the first.

b. the period of eight days beginning with such a day.

[1300–50; Middle English < Latin octāva eighth part]

oc•ta•val (ɒkˈteɪ vəl, ˈɒk tə-) adj.

octave

A group of eight lines of verse.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	octave - a feast day and the seven days following it church festival, religious festival - a festival having religious significance
	2.	octave - a musical interval of eight tones musical octave musical interval, interval - the difference in pitch between two notes
	3.	octave - a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse stanza - a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem

Translations

ثُمانِيَّه: سِلْسِلَة من ثَماني نَغَمات

octavavuitada

oktav

Oktave

οκτάβα

octave

oktava

oktáv

áttund

ottava

オクターブ

oktava

oktāva

oktáva

octave

[ˈɒktɪv] N (Mus, Poetry) → octava f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

octave

[ˈɒkteɪv ˈɒktɪv] n → octave f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

octave

(Mus) → Oktave f

(of sonnet) → Oktett nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

octave

[ˈɒktɪv] n (Mus) → ottava

octave

(ˈoktiv) noun

in music, a series or range of eight notes.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"Those chords give the fifth and the octave," said Mr.

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To which the devil, stopping the cart, answered quietly, "Senor, we are players of Angulo el Malo's company; we have been acting the play of 'The Cortes of Death' this morning, which is the octave of Corpus Christi, in a village behind that hill, and we have to act it this afternoon in that village which you can see from this; and as it is so near, and to save the trouble of undressing and dressing again, we go in the costumes in which we perform.

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I think that's within an octave of it." He struck the note again, and appealed to Bruno, who was standing at his side.

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This first part is called the octave, from the Latin word octo, eight.

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Then, without circumlocution or apology, first pronounced the word "Standish," and placing the unknown engine, already described, to his mouth, from which he drew a high, shrill sound, that was followed by an octave below, from his own voice, he commenced singing the following words, in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the music, the poetry, and even the uneasy motion of his ill- trained beast at defiance; "How good it is, O see, And how it pleaseth well, Together e'en in unity, For brethren so to dwell.

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The guide sounded two sonorous notes, about half an octave apart; the echo answered with the most enchanting, the most melodious, the richest blending of sweet sounds that one can imagine.

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But as she ain't here; just pitch it an octave or two lower, will you, and I'll not only be obliged to you, but it'll do you more credit," says Mr.

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Bianchon, Lucien de Rubempre, Octave de Camps, the Comte de Granville, the Vicomte de Fontaine, du Bruel the vaudevillist, Andoche Finot the journalist, Derville, one of the best heads in the law courts, the Comte du Chatelet, deputy, du Tillet, banker, and several elegant young men, such as Paul de Manerville and the Vicomte de Portenduere.

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The human eye is an imperfect instrument; its range is but a few octaves of the real 'chromatic scale.' I am not mad; there are colors that we cannot see.

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She played a dreamy waltz, marking the time with the bass, while with the right hand she `tiddled' in alternate octaves. By way of a change she crossed her hands and played the air in the bass.

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Delia Caruthers did things in six octaves so promisingly in a pine- tree village in the South that her relatives chipped in enough in her chip hat for her to go "North" and "finish." They could not see her f--, but that is our story.

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The air was calm, full of the eternal hum of insects, a tropical chorus of many octaves, from the deep drone of the bee to the high, keen pipe of the mosquito.

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