octave: Meaning and Definition of

oc•tave

Pronunciation: (ok'tiv, -tāv), [key]
— n.
    1. a tone on the eighth degree from a given tone.
    2. the interval encompassed by such tones.
    3. the harmonic combination of such tones.
    4. a series of tones, or of keys of an instrument, extending through this interval.
  1. a pipe-organ stop whose pipes give tones an octave above the normal pitch of the keys used.
  2. a series or group of eight.
  3. Also called
    1. a group of eight lines of verse, esp. the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form. Cf.sestet(def. 1).
    2. a stanza of eight lines.
  4. the eighth of a series.
    1. the eighth day from a feast day, counting the feast day as the first.
    2. the period of eight days beginning with a feast day.
  5. one eighth of a pipe of wine.
  6. the eighth of eight defensive positions.
—adj.
  1. pitched an octave higher.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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