all' ottava

[ ahl uh-tah-vuh; Italian ahl-lawt-tah-vah ]

/ ˌɑl əˈtɑ və; Italian ˌɑl lɔtˈtɑ vɑ /

noun Music.

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.

Words nearby all' ottava

all whites, all wool and a yard wide, all work and no play (makes jack a dull boy), all work and no play makes jack a dull boy, all year round, all' ottava, all'antica, all'ottava, all's fair in love and war, all's well that ends well, all-

Origin of all' ottava

1815–25; < Italian: literally, at the octave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for all'ottava

all'ottava

/ (æləˈtɑːvə) /

adjective, adverb

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