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octaves

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oc⋅tave

  [ok-tiv, -teyv]
Use octaves in a Sentence
–noun
1. Music.
a. a tone on the eighth degree from a given 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 pipe-organ stop whose pipes give tones an octave above the normal pitch of the keys used.
3. a series or group of eight.
4. Also called octet. Prosody.
a. a group of eight lines of verse, esp. the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form. Compare sestet (def. 1).
b. a stanza of eight lines.
5. the eighth of a series.
6. Ecclesiastical.
a. the eighth day from a feast day, counting the feast day as the first.
b. the period of eight days beginning with a feast day.
7. one eighth of a pipe of wine.
8. Fencing. the eighth of eight defensive positions.
–adjective
9. pitched an octave higher.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < L octāva eighth part, n. use of fem. of octāvus, equiv. to oct- oct- + -āvus adj. suffix

Related forms:
oc⋅ta⋅val  [ok-tey-vuhl, ok-tuh-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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oc·tave   (ŏk'tĭv, -tāv')   
n.  

  1. Music

    1. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    11. A poem or stanza containing eight lines.

  2. Ecclesiastical

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

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

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

    4. A poem or stanza containing eight lines.

  3. A group or series of eight.

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

    2. 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.
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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Cultural Dictionary

octave [(ok-tiv)]

An interval between musical notes in which the higher note is six whole tones, or twelve half tones, above the lower. From the standpoint of physics, the higher note has twice the frequency of the lower. Notes that are an octave apart, or a whole number of octaves apart, sound in some ways like the same note and have the same letter for their names.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

octave 
c.1300, vtaues (pl., from popular O.Fr. form otaves), later reformed, from M.L. octava, from L. octava dies "eighth day," fem. of octavus "eighth," from octo (see eight). Originally "period of eight days after a festival," also "eighth day after a festival" (counting both days, thus if the festival was on a Sunday, the octaves would be the following Sunday). Verse sense of "stanza of eight lines" is from c.1586; musical sense of "note eight diatonic degrees above (or below) a given note" is first recorded 1656, from L. octava (pars) "eighth part."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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