English

Verb

octavate ‎(third-person singular simple present octavates, present participle octavating, simple past and past participle octavated)

1. (music) To sound one octave higher or lower.
   1. (intransitive, of an instrument) To resonate or sound one octave higher or lower.
      • 1922, Diran Alexanian [aut.] and Frederick Fairbanks [tr.], Complete Cello Technique (2003 repub.), page 105

        The string, originally divided, will continue for some time to “octavate”.

      • 1947, Ernest Closson [aut.] and Delano Ames [tr.], History of the Piano, page 64

        Adolphe Sax, when he invented the saxophone, had at first only in mind the object of improving the clarinet by permitting it to ‘octavate.’

      • 1948, The Galpin Society Journal I–IV, page 69

        ‘Octavate’ (i.e. overblow at the octave. Does decimate mean to overblow at the tenth? Is the Primate the fundamental note of an instrument?).

      • 1957, Marin Mersenne [aut.] and Roger Eddington Chapman [tr.], Harmonie Universelle, page 305

        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.

   2. (intransitive, of a person) To span (at least) one octave in playing a musical instrument.
      • 1984, VdGSA News XXI–XXIV, page 39

        Ability to ornament, octavate, play chords and do some improvising.

      • 2004, Deutschland, page 23

        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
   3. (transitive, rare, of an instrument, construed with up) To double the pitch of (a part of itself).
      • 1999, Jon Chappell, The Recording Guitarist, page 133

        A 12-string doubles the octaves of only the lower four strings…. A doubled, capoed guitar “octavates up” the top two strings.

2. (mathematics, rare) To convert (the expression of a number) from denary to octal notation.
   • 1949, The American Mathematical Monthly LVI, page 463

     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.

Derived terms

• octavated, octavating

Related terms

• octavation

Antonyms

• (mathematics: convert from denary to octal notation): decimate

Translations

Noun

octavate ‎(plural octavates)

1. (rare) octave (transfiguratively)
   • 2000, Supriya Kumar Bhattacharjee, Handbook of Aromatic Plants, page 18

     There is an octavate of odours as well as octavates of notes in music. Like the keys of instruments, certain odours coincide or blend.