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

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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

It is addressed to Fulke Greville, and written, with much sententious melody, in a sort of terza rima, or, more properly, ottava rima with the couplet omitted.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

It is divided into twenty cantos, written in ottava rima, or eight-rhymed stanzas, and, owing to its rhythmic perfection, is still sung by Italian bards to popular audiences.

From The Book of the Epic by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber

"English Bards and Scotch Reviewers" is a thoroughly Popeian satire, and "The Vision of Judgment," though not in couplets but in ottava rima, is one of the best personal satires in English.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers

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