octave
/ˈɒktɪv/US/ˈɑktɪv/
octave noun: an interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency. Also the alternative form of octavate.
Noun
octave (plural octaves)
- An interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency.
- The melody jumps up an octave at the beginning, then later drops back down an octave.
- The singer was known for astounding clarity over her entire five-octave range.
- The pitch an octave higher than a given pitch.
- The bass starts on a low E, and the tenor comes in on the octave.
- A coupler on an organ which allows the organist to sound the note an octave above the note of the key pressed (cf sub-octave)
- A poetic stanza consisting of eight lines; usually used as one part of a sonnet.
- With mournful melody it continued this octave.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
- The eighth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword out straight at knee level.
- If they always do a lateral parry quarte, and never a semicircular octave, that gives you an opening.2009, Ray Finkleman, (Please provide the book title or journal name)
- The day that is one week after a feast day in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church.
- […] the Chamberlains' records of the companies' visits to their towns are, for the most part, not precisely dates, but merely group them together […] within their annual accounting period which normally […] ran from Michaelmas (29 September) to Michaelmas, or its octave (6 October).2000, John Southworth, Shakespeare the Player
- It was extended to the entire Church by 1814, and then in 1913 the feast was transferred to September 15, the octave day of the Birth of Mary and the day after the Exaltation of the Cross.2014, Jennifer Gregory Miller, (Please provide the book title or journal name)
- An eight-day period beginning on a feast day in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church.
- Of an Octave the Office is said. or at least commemorated, (when any Sunday or Feast intervene), for eight successive days.1870, The Night Hours of the Church, trans. Rev. J. M. Neale
- A small cask of wine, one eighth of a pipe.
- An octonion.
- Any of a number of coherent-noise functions of differing frequency that are added together to form Perlin noise.
- The subjective vibration of a planet.
- Mercury then joins its higher octave and generous counterpart Jupiter early next week, and it opens gates of opportunity.2016, Kristin Fontana, The Beach Reporter
Adjective
octave (not comparable)
- Consisting of eight; eight in number.
- Boccace[…] is said to have invented the octave rhye1700, [John] Dryden, Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
Also used as
octave is also the alternative form of octavate.
octave meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
octave in Hindi
- सप्तक, अष्टक, ऑक्टेव
octave in Tamil
- ஆக்டேவ், ஒக்டேவ், அக்டேவ்
octave in Marathi
- अष्टक, ऑक्टेव्ह
octave in Urdu
- اوکٹیو, آکٹاو, آکٹے
More languagesFewer languages
- octave in Bengali
- অষ্টক, অক্টেভ
- octave in Telugu
- ఆక్టేవ్, అష్టకం
- octave in Malayalam
- ഒക്ടേവ്, അഷ്ടകം, ഒക്ടേവിലേക്ക്
- octave in Kannada
- ಆಕ್ಟೇವ್
- octave in Punjabi
- ਓਕਟੇਵ, ਔਕਟੇਵ, ਆਕਟੇਵ
- octave in Gujarati
- ઓક્ટેવ, ઑક્ટેવ
- octave in Odia
- ଅଷ୍ଟକ, ଅକ୍ଟେଭ୍, ଅଷ୍ଟକକୁ
- octave in Nepali
- अष्टक, अक्टेभ
Examples of octave in a sentence
- The oboe overblows at the octave; the clarinet at the twelfth.
- Unable to contain his excitement, Foyʼs voice rose two octaves and took on a Hitlerian fervor.
- Without it, modern classical music, which requires modulation over a plurality of octaves, would not be possible.
Forms of octave
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | octaves |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | octaves |
| present participle | octaving |
| past participle | octaved |
| past | octaved |
Origin of octave
From Latin octavus (“eighth”). Doublet of octavo, ochava, and oitava.
Words formed from octave
Phrases with octave
Questions about octave
- What does octave mean?
- Octave means an interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency.
- What is octave in Hindi?
- Octave in Hindi is सप्तक, अष्टक, ऑक्टेव. See Octave meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is octave?
- Octave can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce octave?
- Octave is pronounced /ˈɒktɪv/ (UK).
- What is the plural of octave?
- The plural of octave is octaves.
Words near octave in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: octave (page history and authors); octave (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); octave (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-octave.wav.
Cite this entry: “octave.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/octave. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.