Standard Lemma guide

octobass

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A very large bass requiring two musicians, one to finger and one to bow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From octo- + bass. The name "octobass" comes from "octo-" meaning "eight" in Latin and "-bass", which is general name for any bass instrument (like "double bass", "contrabass" etc.). "Octo" is used because its range extending more than an octave below that of the double bass - it is tuned to A0, compared to the C1 that a double bass can stretch to, which makes octobass the lowest chordophone ever created.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: oktobas — large bass
  • Armenian: օկտոբաս (ōktobas) — large bass
  • Basque: oktobaxu — large bass
  • German: Oktobass — large bass
  • Italian: ottobasso — large bass
  • Japanese: オクトバス (okutobasu) — large bass
  • Korean: 옥토베이스 (oktobeiseu) — large bass
  • Polish: oktobas — large bass
  • Portuguese: octobaixo — large bass
  • Russian: октобас (oktobas) — large bass
  • Spanish: octabajo — large bass
  • Ukrainian: октобас (oktobas) — large bass