ottava

American  

[oh-tah-vuh, awt-tah-vah] / oʊˈtɑ və, ɔtˈtɑ vɑ /

adverb

Music.

1. (of notes in a score) at an octave higher than written (when placed above the staff ) or lower than written (when placed below the staff ). 8va

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ottava British  

/ əʊˈtɑːvə /

noun

1. an interval of an octave See all'ottava

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Etymology

Origin of ottava

1810–20; < Italian: octave

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ottava

Although an occasional narrative experiment might disrupt the format, what makes “Law & Order” special is precisely the fact that it has one, like a sonnet, a sestina, or an ottava rima.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2022

He bows gracefully to ottava rima, the sonnet and ballad.

From Time Magazine Archive

While beginning, however, with simple terza or ottava rima, the dramatic eclogue gradually became highly polymetric in structure, though it is true that it seldom affected the free measures peculiar to the Arcadian drama.

From Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama A Literary Inquiry, with Special Reference to the Pre-Restoration Stage in England by Walter W. Greg

The poem is written in ottava rima, but, very singularly, there is not one double rhyme from beginning to end.

From An Introduction to the Study of Browning by Arthur Symons

Dobson,  A., ballades of, 367; Dance of Death, 368; on French lyrical forms, 358f.; on ottava rima, 101; on Pope, 203; Rose Leaves, 381f.*;

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden