instrumental
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English [edit]
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English, from Medieval Latin instrumentalis, from instruere (“to build into, set up, construct, furnish, hence "to train"”), from in- (“on”) + struere (“to put together, arrange, pile up, build, construct”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, to strew”).
Pronunciation [edit]
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Audio (US) (file)
Adjective [edit]
instrumental (comparative more instrumental, superlative most instrumental)
- Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; essential or central.
- He was instrumental in conducting the business.
- (Can we date this quote?), William Shakespeare, Hamlet, I,ii
- The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth —
- (music) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, especially a musical instrument.
- instrumental music
- (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Babington Macaulay
- He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship.
- Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds. — John Dryden
- (grammar) Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally indicated in English by by or with with the objective.
- the instrumental case.
Coordinate terms [edit]
Antonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
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Noun [edit]
instrumental (countable and uncountable; plural instrumentals)
- (uncountable, grammar) The instrumental case.
- (countable, music) A composition without lyrics.
Translations [edit]
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External links [edit]
- instrumental in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- instrumental in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
French [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
instrumental m (feminine instrumentale, masculine plural instrumentaux, feminine plural instrumentales)
Noun [edit]
instrumental m (plural instrumentaux)
- (grammar) the instrumental case
See also [edit]
German [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From French instrumental.
Instrument + -al
Adjective [edit]
instrumental (not comparable)
Antonyms [edit]
Declension [edit]
Serbo-Croatian [edit]
Noun [edit]
ȉnstrumentāl m (Cyrillic spelling и̏нструмента̄л)
Declension [edit]
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | instrumental | instrumentali |
| genitive | instrumentala | instrumentala |
| dative | instrumentalu | instrumentalima |
| accusative | instrumental | instrumentale |
| vocative | instrumentale | instrumentali |
| locative | instrumentalu | instrumentalima |
| instrumental | instrumentalom | instrumentalima |
Spanish [edit]
Adjective [edit]
instrumental m and f (plural instrumentales)
- Webster 1913
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English adjectives
- en:Music
- en:Grammar
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Grammatical cases
- French adjectives
- French nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French countable nouns
- fr:Grammar
- fr:Grammatical cases
- German terms derived from French
- German words suffixed with -al
- German adjectives
- German uncomparable adjectives
- de:Music
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns
- Spanish adjectives