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CLEF

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clef

[klef]
–noun Music.
a symbol placed upon a staff to indicate the name and pitch of the notes corresponding to its lines and spaces.


Origin:
1570–80; < MF < L clāvis key
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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clef   (klěf)   
n.   Music
A symbol indicating the pitch represented by one line of a staff, in relation to which the other pitches of the staff can be determined.

[French, key, from Old French, from Latin clāvis.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

clef 
1576 in a musical sense, from M.Fr. clef, from L. clavis "key" (see slot (2)). The most common is the treble or G-clef, denoting the G above middle C on the piano.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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