octave

[ ok-tiv, -teyv ]

/ ˈɒk tɪv, -teɪv /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for octave on Thesaurus.com

noun

Music.

a tone on the eighth degree from a given tone.
the interval encompassed by such tones.
the harmonic combination of such tones.
a series of tones, or of keys of an instrument, extending through this interval.

a pipe-organ stop whose pipes give tones an octave above the normal pitch of the keys used.

a series or group of eight.

Also called octet. Prosody.

a group of eight lines of verse, especially the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form.Compare sestet (def. 1).
a stanza of eight lines.

the eighth of a series.

Ecclesiastical.

the eighth day from a feast day, counting the feast day as the first.
the period of eight days beginning with a feast day.

one eighth of a pipe of wine.

Fencing. the eighth of eight defensive positions.

adjective

pitched an octave higher.

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of octave

1300–50; Middle English <Latin octāva eighth part, noun use of feminine of octāvus, equivalent to oct-oct- + -āvus adj. suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM octave

oc·ta·val

[ok-tey-vuhl, ok-tuh-], /ɒkˈteɪ vəl, ˈɒk tə-/, adjective

Words nearby octave

octarchy, octaroon, octastyle, octateuch, octavalent, octave, octave coupler, Octavia, Octavian, Octavius, octavo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use octave in a sentence

His three-octave falsetto was also used to good advantage in Mars Attacks!
The Deaths You Missed This Year|Malcolm Jones, Jimmy So, Michael Moynihan, Caitlin Dickson|December 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I played up one octave, and then I wished to go on by placing my first finger on F sharp.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
An octave coupler without such extension is incomplete and is no more honest than a stop which only goes down to Tenor C.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Not only did he provide sub-octave and super-octave couplers freely, but he even added a Swell Sub-quint to Great coupler!
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

Closing the holes again and blowing harder, we get the scale an octave higher.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
If two notes at an interval of a fifth are held down, a note one octave below the lower one will be heard.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

British Dictionary definitions for octave

octave

/ (ˈɒktɪv) /

noun

the interval between two musical notes one of which has twice the pitch of the other and lies eight notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale
one of these two notes, esp the one of higher pitch
(as modifier)an octave leap See also perfect (def. 9), diminished (def. 2), interval (def. 5)

prosody a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse

(ˈɒkteɪv)

a feast day and the seven days following
the final day of this period

the eighth of eight basic positions in fencing

any set or series of eight

adjective

consisting of eight parts

Word Origin for octave

C14: (originally: eighth day) via Old French from Medieval Latin octāva diēs eighth day (after a festival), from Latin octo eight

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

Cultural definitions for octave

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.

octave

Origin of octave

OTHER WORDS FROM octave

Words nearby octave

Words related to octave

How to use octave in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for octave

Word Origin for octave

Cultural definitions for octave