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Meaning of octavate | Babel Free

Verb CEFR B2
/ˈɒktəveɪt/

Definitions

  1. To sound one octave higher or lower.
    intransitive
  2. To resonate or sound one octave higher or lower.
    intransitive
  3. To span (at least) one octave in playing a musical instrument.
    intransitive
  4. To double the pitch of (a part of itself).
    rare, transitive
  5. To convert (the expression of a number) from denary to octal notation.
    rare

Examples

“The string, originally divided, will continue for some time to “octavate”.”
“Adolphe Sax, when he invented the saxophone, had at first only in mind the object of improving the clarinet by permitting it to ‘octavate.’”
“‘Octavate’ (i.e. overblow at the octave. Does decimate mean to overblow at the tenth? Is the Primate the fundamental note of an instrument?).”
“When it octavates, the holes being closed, it often assumes its natural pitch again on opening the holes, instead of continuing its tones to the octave above, so that it octavates much more easily when the holes are closed than when they are unstopped.”
“Ability to ornament, octavate, play chords and do some improvising.”
“He varies and octavates, leaving Bach listeners thunderstruck.”
“2007, Michael Gallant, “OCTAVATE!: Spread your hands to create powerful sounds.” in Keyboard XXXIII–XXXIV, page unknown”
“A 12-string doubles the octaves of only the lower four strings…. A doubled, capoed guitar “octavates up” the top two strings.”
“To octavate the number one hundred the reasoning is as follows. The square of eight goes into one hundred once with remainder thirty-six. This remainder contains eight to the first power four times with remainder four. Hence to express one hundred to the base 8 we write the digits 144 which in somewhat longer form may be put as 100 = 1×8² + 4×8 + 4.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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