octave C2 Topic:Music Theory US /ˈɑktɪv/ UK /ˈɒktɪv/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like active /æ/ vs /ɑ/ Freq #23331 Meanings 1 noun 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. 2 noun The pitch an octave higher than a given pitch. The bass starts on a low E, and the tenor comes in on the octave. 3 noun A poetic stanza consisting of eight lines; usually used as one part of a sonnet. With mournful melody it continued this octave. 4 noun 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. Thesaurus Word family Derived forms contra-octaveinteroctaveintraoctavemillioctavemultioctaveoctavaloctavationpseudo-octavesesquioctavesubcontraoctavesuboctavesuperoctave Related forms fifthfourthintervaloct-octavosecondseventhsixththirdunison Appears in Phrases (1) See all musical octave an interval spanning eight notes of a standard musical scale Adjective + noun Etymology From Latin octavus (“eighth”). Doublet of octavo, ochava, and oitava. Topics Music Theory Register & Style General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # octave **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈɑktɪv/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɒktɪv/ **Frequency rank:** 23331 ## Meanings 1. An interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency. 2. The pitch an octave higher than a given pitch. 3. A poetic stanza consisting of eight lines; usually used as one part of a sonnet. 4. The eighth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword out straight at knee level. ## Examples - The melody jumps up an octave at the beginning, then later drops back down an octave. - The bass starts on a low E, and the tenor comes in on the octave. - With mournful melody it continued this octave. - If they always do a lateral parry quarte, and never a semicircular octave, that gives you an opening. ## Derived Forms - contra-octave - interoctave - intraoctave - millioctave - multioctave - octaval - octavation - pseudo-octave - sesquioctave - subcontraoctave - suboctave - superoctave ## Related Forms - fifth - fourth - interval - oct- - octavo - second - seventh - sixth - third - unison ## Roots and Affixes - Affix: oct- - eight ## Etymology From Latin octavus (“eighth”). Doublet of octavo, ochava, and oitava. ## Topics - Music Theory - Register & Style - General Vocabulary markdown