Oc"tave (?), a.
Consisting of eight; eight. Dryden.
Oc"tave (?), n. [F., fr. L. octava an eighth, fr. octavus eighth, fr. octo eight. See Eight, and cf. Octavo, Utas.]
1. The eighth day after a church festival, the festival day being included; also, the week following a church festival. "The octaves of Easter." Jer. Taylor.
2.
(Mus.) (a)
The eighth tone in the scale; the interval between one and eight
of the scale, or any
interval of equal length; an interval of five tones and two semitones. (b) The whole diatonic scale itself.
&fist; The ratio of a musical tone to its octave above is 1:2 as regards the number of
vibrations producing the tones.
3. (Poet.) The first two
stanzas of a sonnet, consisting of four verses each; a stanza of eight lines.
With mournful melody it continued this octave.
Sir
P. Sidney. Double
octave. (Mus.)
See under Double. -- Octave
flute (Mus.), a small flute, the tones of which range an octave higher than those of the
German or ordinary flute; -- called also piccolo. See Piccolo.
4. A small cask of
wine, the eighth part of a pipe.
Hear it pronounced