octarchy 
persons, or a region inhabited by eight affiliated 
communities each having its own chief or gov- 
ernment. 
The Danes commenced their ravages and partial con- 
quests of England before the Anglo-Saxon Octarchy could 
be fused into the English kingdom. 
Sir E. Creasy, Eng. Const, p. 33. 
octaroon (ok-ta-ron'), n. Same as octoroon. 
octasemic (ok-ta-s'mik), a. [< LL. octasenms, 
< Gr, oKTaar/fiOf, of eight times, < o/cra, = E. eight, 
+ er/pelov, mark, sign, token.] In anc. pros., 
containing or amounting to eight semeia (morse) 
or units of time ; having a magnitude of eight 
normal snorts : as, the orthius has an octasemic 
thesis ; the dochmius and greater spondee are 
octasemic feet. 
OCtastich (ok'ta-stik), n. [< Gr. oKTaartxov, 
neut. of oKTaanxof, having eight lines, < OKT&, 
= E. eight, + arixof, a line, verse.] A strophe, 
stanza, or poem consisting of eight verses or 
lines. 
They found out their sentence as it is metrified in this 
octastic. Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, iii. 17. (Dames.) 
octastichon (ok-tas'ti-kon), . [< Gr. 'oKraari- 
XOM, an octastich: see octastich.'] An octastich. 
In 1470 Guil. Fichet, in an octastichon inserted in the 
Paris edition of 1470 of the Letters of Gasparinus of Ber- 
gamo, exhorts Paris to take up the almost divine art of 
writing (printing), which Germany is acquainted with. 
Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 687. 
OCtastropMc (ok-ta-sfcrof'ik), a. [< Gr. OKTU, 
= E. eight, + arpo<t>^, strophe : see strophic.] In 
pros., consisting of or containing eight strophes 
or stanzas : as, an catastrophic poem. 
octastyle (ok'ta-stil), a. [Also octostyle; < L. 
octastylos. < Gr. o/crdorwlof, having eight col- 
umns, < aura, = E. eight, + arvtof, a column: 
see style 2 .'] In arch., having, or characterized 
4078 
The octave of the consecration-day had barely passed, 
and there was already a King to be buried. 
H. A. Freeman, Norm. Conq., III. 17. 
(b) The prolongation of a festival till the eighth 
day inclusive ; a period consisting of a feast- 
day and the seven days following : as, St. John 
the Evangelist's day (December 27th) is within 
the octave of Christmas. See outaa. 
Herevpon therefore he caused a parlement to be sum- 
moned at Westminster, there to be holden in the octaves 
of the Epiphanie. Bolimhed, Hen. III., an. 1225. 
To touch the earth with our foot within the octaves of 
Easter, or to taste flesh upon days of abstinence, . . .have 
no consideration if they be laid in balance against the 
crimes of adultery or blasphemy. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 63. 
2. In music: (a) A tone on the eighth diatonic 
degree above or below a given tone ; the next 
higher or lower replicate of a given tone. (6) 
The interval between any tone and a tone on 
the eighth degree above or below it. (c) The 
harmonic combination of two tones at the in- 
terval thus described, (d) In a scale, the eighth 
tone from the bottom, or, more exactly, the 
tone with which the repetition of the scale be- 
gins; the upper key-note or tonic; the eighth: 
solmizated do, like the lower key-note. The typi- 
cal interval of an octave is that between any tone and its 
next replicate, which is acoustically represented by the 
ratio 1:2 that is, in number of vibrations and is equal 
to six diatonic whole steps or to twelve semitones. Such 
octile 
forte and organ music, a passage of octaves the two tones 
of which are played successively instead of together : as, 
Covered or hidden octaves, in music, the consecutive 
octaves that are suggested when two voices proceed in 
similar (not parallel) motion to a perfect octave. Hidden 
octaves are forbidden in strict counterpoint, and discoun- 
tenanced in simple harmony, particularly if both voices 
skip. Compare hidden fifths, under fifth. Rule of the 
octave, in the musical theory of the seventeenth and eigh- 
teenth centuries, an arbitrary and imperfect scheme of 
the harmonies proper to the successive tones of the scale. 
The modern theory that every tone of the scale may be 
made the basis of a triad has completely displaced this 
rule. Short octave, in early organ-building, the lowest 
octave of the keyboard when made to consist of only three 
or four of the digitals most used in the music of the day, 
instead of the full number. The digitals were set close 
together, as if belonging to the regular series. This cur- 
tailment was simply to avoid the expense of large pipes. 
II. a. Consisting of eight; specifically, con- 
sisting of eight lines. 
Boccace . . . particularly is said to have invented the 
octane rhyme, or stanza of eight lines. 
Dryden, Pref. to Fables. 
The remainder [is] partly in prose and partly in octave 
stanzas. Ticknor, Span. Lit. , I. 40. 
Octave coupler. See coupler. Octave scale, a scale 
an octave long, or a scale consisting of eight tones. See 
model, 7. Octave system, inmusio, a system of dividing 
all possible tones into octave portions. See octave, 2 (e). 
to six diatonic wnole steps or to twelve semitones, nucn :?"- 7 V'+oVA i IV />/>//, 1 1 To Win v 
an octave is called perfect or major; an octave one half- Octave (ok tav), v. i. [< octave, n.} 1. lo play 
step shorter is called diminished or minor; an octave one 
half-step longer is called augmented. The perfect octave 
is the most complete consonance after the unison. In- 
deed, its completeness is often regarded as belonging to a 
different category from that of the other perfect conso- 
nances, except the unison , since it amounts rather to a repe- 
tition or reinforcement of the original tone at a higher or 
lower pitch than to a combination of a new or different 
in octaves. 2. In pianoforte- and harpsichord- 
making, to reinforce the tone of a digital by 
adding a string tuned an octave above the usu- 
al tone of the digital. 
Imitation of the harpsichord by "octaving" was at this 
time [about 17721 an object with piano makers. 
Encyc. Brit., XIX. 74. 
tone with it: hence the term replicate. In harmony the +3 * fnlr'tfiv flntl A niccolo 
parallel motion of two voice-parts in perfect octaves is OCtave-flUte (ok tav-fl 5t), n. 1. A Piccolo, 
forbidden, except where the mere reinforcement of one 2. In organ-building, same as octave, 2, (J). 
voice by another is desired: such octaves are called con- octave-Stop (ok'tav-stop), . Same as octave, 
secutive octaves. See consecutiveintenals, under consecutive. 9 (/) 
(e) In a standard system of tones selected for Qctavian (ok-ta'vi-an), a. [< L. Octavianus, < 
istic use, a division or section or group of OctaviuSt tne name ' o f a R O ma 
Octastyle Portico of the Pantheon, Rome. 
by the presence of, eight columns, as a portico 
or a building having eight columns in front. 
There is no octastyle hall at Persepolis, and only one 
decastyle. J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 199. 
Octateuch (ok'ta-tuk), . [< LGr. oKTd-evxof 
(sc. /3i'/%>f), a volume containing the first eight 
books of the Old Testament, < OKT&, = E. eight, 
+ revxof, a book. Cf. Heptateuch, Hexateuch, 
Pentateuch.'] A collection of eight books ; spe- 
cifically, the first eight books of the Old Testa- 
ment considered as forming one volume or se- 
ries of books. Also Octoteuch. 
Not unlike unto that [style] of Theodoret in his ques- 
tions upon the octoteuch. 
Hanmer, View of Antiq. (1677), p. 37. 
Wit the term Heptateuch was used the book of Ruth 
was considered as included in Judges, but when it was 
treated as a separate book the collection was known as the 
Octoteuch. The Academy, Oct. 12, 1889, p. 238. 
octaval (ok'ta-val), a. [< octave + -al.] Of or 
pertaining to an octave or series of eight ; num- 
bered or proceeding by eights. 
No doubt, an octaval system of numeration, with its 
possible subdivision 8, 4, 2, 1, would have been originally 
better ; but there is no sufficient reason for a change now. 
Science, IV. 415. 
OCtavarium (ok-ta-va'ri-um), n. ; pi. octavaria 
(-a). [ML., < octavo, octave: see octave.] In 
th'e Rom. Cath. Ch., a modern office-book con- 
taining lections, etc., for use within the octaves 
of festivals. 
octave (ok'tav), n. and a. [< F. octave = Sp. 
octava = Pg. oitava = It. ottava, < L. octava (sc. 
hora, hour, or pars, part), the eighth hour of 
the day, the eighth part, ML., in music, the 
octave, fern, of octavus, eighth, < octo = E. eight : 
see eight*. Cf-outas.] I. n. I. (a) The eighth 
day from a festival, the feast-day itself being 
counted as the first: as, Low Sunday is the oc- 
tave of Easter. The octave necessarily falls on 
the same day of the week as the feast from 
which it is counted. 
artistic _., _. 
tones an octave long, the limits of which are 
fixed by reference to a given or assumed stan- 
dard tone whose exact pitch may be defined. 
The tone usually assumed as a starting-point is middle C 
(written on the first leger line below in the treble clef, and 
on the first above in the bass clef). The octave beginning 
on the next C below is called the tenor or small octave ; that 
beginning on the second C below is called the bass or great 
octave ; that beginning on the third C below is called the 
contrabass octave . 
is called the alto, once-marked, or once-accented octave; 
that beginning on the next C above is called the treble, 
twice-marked, or twice-accented octave, etc. See the accom- 
panying table : 
Roman gens (gens Oc- 
tavia),<.octai'us, eighth: see octave."] Of or per- 
taining to the Roman gens of the Octavii, or 
any member of it Octavlan Library, public li- 
brary at Rome, the first library open to the public, founded 
by the emperor Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia, 
and housed in the Portico of Octavia. It perished in the 
fire which raged at Rome for three days in the reign of 
Titus, A. D. 79-81. 
^oS^t^^ 
in octavo (as m F. Sp.), being a NL. phrase: 
L. in, in; octavo, abl. of octavus, eighth: see 
octave. Cf. duodecimo, folio, quarto, etc.] I. 
a. Having eight leaves to a sheet; formed of 
sheets of paper so folded as to make eight 
leaves to the sheet: as, an octavo volume. 
II. n. A book or pamphlet every section or 
gathering of which contains eight leaves, each 
leaf supposed to be one eighth of the sheet 
printed : usually written 8vo. When the name of 
the paper of which the book is made is not specified, an 
octavo is understood as a medium octavo, 6 x 9J inches. 
I I J~J 
lS 7 ** p 
I 
J m i" 
~" 
A B 
o d 
e 
f g 
a 
b- 
Bass or great 
octave. 
* - 
Tenor or small 
octave. 
c' d' 
e' f g' a' b' | |e" d" e" f" g" a" b"| |e'"d'" 
Alto or once-marked 
octave. 
Treble or twice-marked 
octave. 
Smaller octavos are post 8vo, 6J x 8i inches; demySvo, 
5J x 8 inches ; crown 8vo, 6 x 7i inches ; cap 8vo, 4J x 
7 inches. Larger octavos are royal 8vo, 6i x 10 Inches ; 
superroyal 8vo, 7 x 11 inches ; imperial 8vo, 8J x 111 
inches. These are regular octavo folds of established sizes 
of paper in the United States. Publishers and booksellers 
describe as octavos only those books or leaves that are 
larger than 6J x 8 and smaller than 7J x Hi inches, irre- 
beta 
paper. 
12mo or 16mo. Bibliographers, as a rule, limit the use of 
the word octavo to books having sections of eight leaves 
or sixteen pages. 
Folios, quartos, octavos, and duodecimos ! ungrateful 
varlets that you are, who have so long taken up my house 
without paying for your lodging ! Pope, Account of Curll. 
The acceptance of the octave as the best unit for thus di- 
viding the series of recognized tones into sections of equal 
length and value has not been uniform. Ancient Greek 
music seems to have first used the tetrachord as such a 
unit ; while medieval music employed the hexachord in 
the same way. The subdivision of the octave portions 
themselves has also varied greatly in different systems of 
music. See scale, (f) In organ-building, a stop 
whose pipes give tones an octave above the nor- 
mal pitch of the digitals used ; specifically, such 
a stop of the diapason variety. Also known as 
the principal. Also called octave-flute, octave- octavo-post (ok-ta' vo-post), , Post-paper twice 
stop. 3. Any interval resembling the musical et and folded : the size of common note-paper, 
octave in having the vibration-ratio of 1 : 2. octennial (ok-ten'i-al), a. [< LL. oetenms, eight 
If ... the solar spectrum be considered in It, whole 3" <>W, < L octo, = E. eight, + ~, year 
extent, we find in the ultra-red alone, according to Miiller, see annual.] 1 . Happening every eighth year , 
more than two octaves, to which must be added more than relating to something that happens every eighth 
another octave from A to the line R in the ultra-violet, year 2 Lasting eight years; relating to some- 
The whole length of the solar spectrum thus embraces j hing ^ ]agtg J|~gJ ye ' arg 
The Bill [for shortening the duration of Parliament] was, 
it is true, changed from a septennial to an octennial one. 
Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., xvi. 
consequently about four octaves. 
Lommel, Light (trans.), p. 281. 
Specifically, in versification: (a) A stanza of eight lines; 
especially, the ottava rima (which see). 
With moneful melodie it continued this octane. OCtennially (ok-ten 1-al-l), adv. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iii. years. 
(6) The first two quatrains or eight lines in a sonnet. See OCtet, Octette (ok-1 tKJ, n. 
sonnet. 
Once in eight 
It requires no doubt considerable ingenuity to construct 
a satisfactory sonnet running upon two rhymes in the oc- 
tave and two in the sestet. Athenaeum, No. 8141, p. 12. 
4. A small cask of wine containing the eighth 
+ -c't, as in duet, etc.] In music, a composition 
for eight voices or instruments, or a company 
of eight singers or players. Sometimes, but not 
usually, equivalent to a double quartet. Also 
ottetto, octuor, octiphonium. 
part of a pipe.-At the octave, all' ottava, 8va, in octile (ok'til), . [< L. octo, = E. eight, + -He.] 
musical notation. $eeottava. Broken octaves, in .piano. In astron., same as octant, 2. 
