claviature

English

One side of the forty-button claviature of the Bastari style of Anglo concertina

Comparison between traditional claviature of a pianoforte and Dodeka keyboard

Claviature of an organ in Saint Pons de Thomières cathedral

Etymology

From German Klaviatur, ultimately from Latin clāvis (“key”).

Noun

claviature (plural claviatures)

1. A keyboard, especially of a musical instrument.
   • 1883 Daniel Garrison Brinton (et al. ed.): Library of Aboriginal American Literature

     Over the mouth of each of them is drawn a thin piece of bladder, and over it, at the distance of a quarter of an inch, are flat pieces of a very hard wood, arranged like the claviature of a piano.

2. The layout of keys on such a keyboard.
   • 1916 John Dunk: Hyperacoustics

     In the practice of music it becomes almost a necessity to agree upon some fixed system of interval measurement in order to clearly and economically define the notation, and the claviature of instruments. This confers an appearance of false simplicity upon tonal procedure, but it enables (in the same way as squared paper does with curves) the highly variable system of tonality to be represented in great generality with a limited number of fixed tones.

3. A system or style of applying the fingers to such a keyboard.
4. Metaphorically, a repertoire or toolkit of concepts or resources for application to a field.
   • 2013 Albrecht Reichle: Evolution-adjusted Tumor Pathophysiology

     The emerging discipline permeates all medical levels, modelling of tumors, diagnostics, tumor monitoring, therapy and study design, thereby providing a whole claviature of novel therapeutic targets

   • 2015 Torben M. Andersen et al.: Reform Capacity and Macroeconomic Performance in the Nordic Countries.

     In the interest of overall macroeconomic efficiency, labour market reform must play several keys of the policy claviature