n.
Pronunciation: ' äk-tiv, -t ə v, - ˌ t ā v
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin octava, from Latin, feminine of octavus eighth, from octo eight ― more at EIGHT
Date: 14th century
1 : an 8-day period of observances beginning with a festival day
2 a : a stanza of eight lines : OTTAVA RIMA b : the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet
3 a : a musical interval embracing eight diatonic degrees b : a tone or note at this interval c : the harmonic combination of two tones an octave apart d : the whole series of notes, tones, or digitals comprised within this interval and forming the unit of the modern scale e : an organ stop giving tones an octave above those corresponding to the digitals
4 : the interval between two frequencies (as in an electromagnetic spectrum) having a ratio of 2 to 1
5 : a group of eight