Meaning & use
clavier
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedmusic
A keyboard instrument such as a harpsichord, clavichord, or early piano.
Grammar: Countable: a clavier, the clavier, two claviers. It is mostly used in historical or musical writing.
Patterns
- play the clavier
- a well-tempered clavier
- music for the clavier
In the museum, a restored clavier stands beside a small harpsichord.
Bach wrote a famous set of pieces called The Well-Tempered Clavier.
She prefers the sound of the clavier to that of the modern piano.
nouncountablerareold-fashioned
The keyboard of a piano or similar instrument.
Grammar: This sense is rare and mostly appears in older texts; 'keyboard' is the usual modern word.
Patterns
- the clavier of a piano
The old manual described the clavier as the set of keys played by the hands.
In this translation, 'clavier' simply means the keyboard of the instrument.
Word forms
| plural | claviers |
|---|
Common combinations
- The Well-Tempered Clavier
- Every piano student eventually studies a piece from The Well-Tempered Clavier.
- play the clavier
- In the 18th century, many people learned to play the clavier at home.
- music for the clavier
- The composer wrote most of his music for the clavier.
Synonyms and how they differ
- keyboard
- The general modern word for any set of keys; 'clavier' is narrower and old-fashioned.
- harpsichord
- A specific early keyboard instrument; a clavier may be a harpsichord or another early keyboard.
Word family
- clavichord noun
- A small early keyboard instrument, one type of clavier.
Commonly confused: clavier or clavicle?
clavier vs clavicle
A clavicle is a collarbone, a bone in the body; a clavier is a keyboard instrument.
Practice
In modern English, what does 'clavier' most often refer to?
Choose one answer.
'Clavier' means a keyboard instrument such as a harpsichord or early piano. It is not a string instrument, a tuning device, or a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clavier”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.