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

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

The Novelle Galanti is a series of poetical tales, in the ottava rima—a metre largely used by Italian poets for that class of compositions.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 4 "Carnegie Andrew" to "Casus Belli" by Various

That the ottava rima on the one hand, and the sonnet on the other, may have suggested the idea of it is quite possible.

From A History of Elizabethan Literature by Saintsbury, George

Professor Corson says: "The Elegy having come to an end, the ottava rima is employed, with an admirable artistic effect, to mark off the Epilogue in which Milton ... speaks in his own person."

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