octave

[ ok-tiv, -teyv ]

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.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use octave in a sentence

Thanks to its straightforward playing mechanics, repeating layout, and a massive range spanning seven octaves, piano is one of the most unique and immediately rewarding instruments to learn.
The best beginner keyboards let you build piano skills without a major investment | Jay Cabrera | October 31, 2021 | Popular-Science
Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and how math underlies musical composition.
Mathematician Sarah Hart on Why Numbers are Music to Our Ears (People I (Mostly) Admire, Ep. 49) | Steven D. Levitt | October 30, 2021 | Freakonomics
Andrew Rannells and Tituss Burgess teamed up for “It Takes Two” from “Into the Woods,” with Burgess jacking up his voice an octave to sing the Baker’s Wife’s part.
The Tonys brought back the fanfare, but Broadway still faces many challenges | Peter Marks | September 27, 2021 | Washington Post
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 | THE 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

Origin of 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.

Browse