clef

English

The G-clef

Alternative forms

• cleff, cliff (both obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French clef, from Latin clāvis (“a key”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

clef (plural clefs)

1. A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff [from 16th c.]

Derived terms

Derived terms

• alto clef
• bass clef
• C clef
• F clef

• G clef
• tenor clef
• treble clef

Related terms

• clave

Translations

musical symbol

• Afrikaans: sleutel (af)
• Albanian: çelës (sq)
• Armenian: բանալին (banalin)
• Azerbaijani: açar (az)
• Bulgarian: ключ (bg) m (ključ)
• Catalan: clau (ca) f
• Czech: klíč (cs) m
• Danish: nøgle (da) c
• Dutch: sleutel (nl) m
• Esperanto: klefo (eo)
• Finnish: nuottiavain (fi)
• French: clé (fr) f
• Georgian: გასაღები (gasaɣebi)
• German: Schlüssel (de) m, Notenschlüssel (de) m
• Greek: κλειδί (el) n (kleidí)
• Hungarian: kulcs (hu)
• Icelandic: lykill (is) m
• Indonesian: kunci musik
• Irish: eochair (ga) f
• Italian: chiave (it) f
• Japanese: 音部記号 (onbu kigō)
• Kazakh: кілт (kk) (kilt)
• Korean: 음자리표 (eumjaripyo)

• Kyrgyz: ключ (ky) (klyuç)
• Latin: clavis (la) f
• Latvian: atslēga f
• Lithuanian: raktas (lt) f
• Luxembourgish: Schlëssel (lb) m
• Macedonian: клуч f (kluč)
• Mandarin: 谱号 (zh) (pǔhào)
• Maori: tohu tārawa
• Norwegian: nøkkel (no)
• Polish: klucz (pl) m
• Portuguese: clave (pt) f
• Romanian: cheie (ro) f
• Russian: ключ (ru) m (ključ)
• Scottish Gaelic: iuchair f
• Spanish: clave (es) f
• Swedish: klav (sv)
• Tagalog: klep
• Turkish: nota anahtarı
• Uzbek: kalit (uz)
• Vietnamese: khóa của âm nhạc
• Volapük: kiküf (vo)
• Zulu: ukhiye (zu)

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French

Etymology

See clé.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kle/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Homophones: clé, clefs, clés

Noun

clef f (plural clefs)

1. Alternative spelling of clé (“key”)
2. (music) clef
3. (heraldry) key; the device as shown on a coat of arms

Derived terms

• fermer à clef
• mettre la clef sous la porte
• prendre la clef des champs

Further reading

• “clef” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French clef.

Noun

clef f (plural clefs)

1. key

Adjective

clef m or f (invariable)

1. key (vitally important)

Descendants

• French: clef, clé

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin clāvis, clāvem (“a key”).

Noun

clef f (oblique plural cles, nominative singular clef, nominative plural cles)

1. key

Descendants

• English: clef
• Middle French: clef
  • French: clef, clé
• Gallo: tié
• Norman: clié