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all' ottava

[ahl uh-tah-vuh; Italian ahl-lawt-tah-vah]
noun Music.
  1. a direction (8va), placed above or below the staff to indicate that the passage covered is to be played one octave higher or lower respectively.

Origin of all' ottava

1815–25; < Italian: literally, at the octave
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for all'ottava

all'ottava

adjective, adverb
  1. music to be played an octave higher or lower than writtenSymbol: 8va

Word Origin for all'ottava

Italian: at the octave
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012