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clef

[klef] Origin

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; < Middle French < Latin clāvis key
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Clef is always a great word to know.
So is sharp. Does it mean:
chord which contains an augmented interval
tone raised a chromatic half step in pitch
Collins
World English Dictionary
clef (klɛf)
 
n
alto clef bass clef C clef soprano clef tenor clef See also treble clef one of several symbols placed on the left-hand side beginning of each stave indicating the pitch of the music written after it
 
[C16: from French: key, clef, from Latin clāvis; related to Latin claudere to close]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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