instrumental

See also: Instrumental, instrumentāl, instrumentál, and inštrumentál

English

Etymology

From Middle English instrumental, instrumentale, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis, equivalent to instrument +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnstɹəˈmɛntəl/, /ɪnstɹʊˈmɛntəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntəl

Adjective

instrumental (comparative more instrumental, superlative most instrumental)

1. Essential or central; of great importance or relevance.

   He was instrumental in conducting the business.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth

   • 2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 2, 51:

     Few songwriters have been as instrumental in creating the mold for American music.

   • 2020 July 29, Ian Prosser discusses with Paul Stephen, “Rail needs robust and strategic plans”, in Rail, page 40:

     [...] Prosser was instrumental in the decision in 2010 to recommence publication of an annual health and safety report, following a period when it had fallen into abeyance.

2. Serving as an instrument, medium, means, or agency.
   • 1896, Charles M. Sheldon, chapter 12, in In His Steps:

     Maxwell started back to his study, feeling that kind of satisfaction which a man feels when he has been even partly instrumental in finding an unemployed person a remunerative position.

3. (music) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice).

   instrumental music

   An instrumental part

   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship.

   • c. 1700, John Dryden, Cymon and Iphigenia:

     Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds.

4. (grammar) Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally corresponding to the English use of prepositions such as by, with, through, or by means of with the objective case.

   the instrumental case

Antonyms

• noninstrumental

Coordinate terms

• (serving as a means): final
• (music): vocal, a cappella

Derived terms

• instrumental error
• instrumentalist
• instrumentality
• instrumental rationality
• instrumental version
• instrumental width
• instrumentation
• instrumentive

 

Related terms

• instrument

Translations

acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; essential or central.

• Bulgarian: инструментален (instrumentalen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有幫助的／有帮助的, 可作為方法的／可作为方法的, 可作為手段的／可作为手段的

• German: dienlich (de), förderlich (de), entscheidend (de), hilfreich (de)
• Indonesian: instrumental (id)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: instrumentell

  Nynorsk: instrumentell

• Polish: instrumentalny (pl)
• Portuguese: instrumental (pt)

of musical instrument

• Catalan: instrumental (ca)
• Czech: instrumentální (cs)
• Dutch: instrumentaal (nl)
• Finnish: instrumentaalinen, soitin-, soittimellinen
• French: instrumental (fr)
• Galician: instrumental
• German: instrumental (de), instrumentell (de)
• Greek: οργανικός (el) (organikós)
• Hungarian: instrumentális (hu)
• Japanese: インストゥルメンタル (insuturumentaru)
• Lithuanian: instrumentinis m
• Polish: instrumentalny (pl)
• Portuguese: instrumental (pt)
• Romanian: instrumental (ro)
• Slovene: instrumentalen
• Spanish: instrumental (es)
• Turkish: aletli (tr), aletsel, enstrümantal (tr)

pertaining to the instrumental case

• Albanian: instrumental (sq)
• Armenian: գործիական (hy) (gorciakan)
• Belarusian: тво́рны (tvórny)
• Bulgarian: твори́телен (tvorítelen)
• Finnish: instrumentaalinen
• French: instrumental (fr)
• Georgian: მოქმედებითი (ka) (mokmedebiti)
• German: Instrumentalis (de) m
• Haitian Creole: enstrimantal
• Hungarian: eszközhatározói
• Indonesian: instrumental (id)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} strumentale (it)
• Lao: ຊ່ວຍ (suāi)
• Polish: narzędnikowy (pl)
• Portuguese: instrumental (pt)
• Romanian: instrumental (ro)
• Russian: твори́тельный (ru) (tvorítelʹnyj)
• Slovene: orodniški
• Spanish: instrumental (es)
• Tagalog: nakatulong
• Turkish: enstrümental
• Ukrainian: ору́дний (uk) (orúdnyj)
• Urdu: آلہ کار (alah-e-kar)

Noun

instrumental (plural instrumentals)

1. (grammar) The instrumental case.
2. (music) A composition written or performed without lyrics or singing, using a lead instrument to replace vocals.
   • 1977, Stereo Review, volume 38, page 70:

     I recommend this album in the face of the fact that five of the eleven songs are the purest filler, dull instrumentals with a harmonica rifling over an indifferent rhythm section. The rest is magnificent […]

Translations

instrumental case — see instrumental case

composition without lyrics

• Bulgarian: инструментал m (instrumental)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 器樂／器乐 (hei³ ngok⁶)

  Mandarin: 器樂／器乐 (zh) (qìyuè)

• Czech: instrumentálka f
• Dutch: instrumentaal (nl)
• Finnish: instrumentaali (fi), instrumentaalikappale, soitinsävellys
• French: instrumentale (fr) f, musique instrumentale (fr) f
• Japanese: インストゥルメンタル (insuturumentaru), インスト (insuto), 器楽曲 (kigakukyoku)
• Korean: 기악 (ko) (giak)
• Portuguese: instrumental (pt) m

Further reading

• “instrumental”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “instrumental”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnstrūmentālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ins.tɾu.mənˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ins.tɾu.menˈtal]

Adjective

instrumental m or f (masculine and feminine plural instrumentals)

1. instrumental

Derived terms

• instrumentalitzar

Related terms

• instrument

Noun

instrumental m (uncountable)

1. (grammar) instrumental
2. (medicine) (set of) instruments

Further reading

• “instrumental” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin īnstrūmentālis. By surface analysis, instrument +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃.tal/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

instrumental (feminine instrumentale, masculine plural instrumentaux, feminine plural instrumentales)

1. instrumental

Derived terms

• instrumentaliser

Noun

instrumental m (plural instrumentaux)

1. (grammar) instrumental case, instrumental

   Coordinate terms: accusatif, génitif, locatif, nominatif, vocatif

Descendants

• → Turkish: enstrümantal

Further reading

• “instrumental”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from French instrumental. Equivalent to Instrument +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

instrumental (strong nominative masculine singular instrumentaler, not comparable)

1. (music) instrumental

   Antonym: nichtinstrumental

Declension

Positive forms of instrumental (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist instrumental	sie ist instrumental	es ist instrumental	sie sind instrumental
strong declension (without article)	nominative	instrumentaler	instrumentale	instrumentales	instrumentale
	genitive	instrumentalen	instrumentaler	instrumentalen	instrumentaler
	dative	instrumentalem	instrumentaler	instrumentalem	instrumentalen
	accusative	instrumentalen	instrumentale	instrumentales	instrumentale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der instrumentale	die instrumentale	das instrumentale	die instrumentalen
	genitive	des instrumentalen	der instrumentalen	des instrumentalen	der instrumentalen
	dative	dem instrumentalen	der instrumentalen	dem instrumentalen	den instrumentalen
	accusative	den instrumentalen	die instrumentale	das instrumentale	die instrumentalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein instrumentaler	eine instrumentale	ein instrumentales	(keine) instrumentalen
	genitive	eines instrumentalen	einer instrumentalen	eines instrumentalen	(keiner) instrumentalen
	dative	einem instrumentalen	einer instrumentalen	einem instrumentalen	(keinen) instrumentalen
	accusative	einen instrumentalen	eine instrumentale	ein instrumentales	(keine) instrumentalen

Further reading

• “instrumental” in Duden online
• “instrumental” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch instrumentaal, from French instrumental, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪn.stru.ˈmɛn.tal/
• Rhymes: -tal, -al
• Hyphenation: in‧stru‧men‧tal

Adjective

instrumental

1. instrumental:
   1. (music) pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice).
   2. (linguistics) applied to a case expressing means or agency.

Related terms

• instrumen
• instrumentasi

 

Further reading

• “instrumental” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• instrumentale, instrumentall

Etymology

From Medieval Latin instrumentalis; equivalent to instrument +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˌstrumɛnˈtaːl/, /inˈstrumɛntal/, /instruˈmɛntal/

Adjective

instrumental (rare)

1. Resembling an instrument in role; instrumental (serving as a means)
2. Resembling an instrument in use (i.e. being used as a tool)
3. Resembling a (specific kind of) instrument in appearance.

Descendants

• English: instrumental

References

• “instrū̆mentāl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩs.tɾu.mẽˈtaw/ [ĩs.tɾu.mẽˈtaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩs.tɾu.mẽˈtaw/ [ĩs.tɾu.mẽˈtaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtaw/ [ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtal/ [ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtal/ [ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩʃ.tɾu.mẽˈta.li/

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: ins‧tru‧men‧tal

Adjective

instrumental m or f (plural instrumentais, sometimes comparable)

1. (comparable) instrumental (acting as an instrument)
2. (music, not comparable) instrumental (having no singing)
3. (grammar, not comparable) instrumental (pertaining to the instrumental case)

Derived terms

• instrumentalmente

Noun

instrumental m (plural instrumentais)

1. (uncountable, grammar) instrumental (grammatical case)
2. (countable, music) instrumental (composition without singing)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French instrumental. By surface analysis, instrument +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌin.stru.menˈtal/

Adjective

instrumental m or n (feminine singular instrumentală, masculine plural instrumentali, feminine and neuter plural instrumentale)

1. instrumental

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	instrumental		instrumentală		instrumentali	instrumentale
	definite	instrumentalul		instrumentala		instrumentalii	instrumentalele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	instrumental		instrumentale		instrumentali	instrumentale
	definite	instrumentalului		instrumentalei		instrumentalilor	instrumentalelor

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

ȉnstrumentāl m (Cyrillic spelling и̏нструмента̄л)

1. (grammar) the instrumental case
2. (music) a composition made for instruments only or a (version of some) song in which only the instruments are heard

Declension

Declension of instrumental

	singular	plural
nominative	instrumental	instrumentali
genitive	instrumentala	instrumentala
dative	instrumentalu	instrumentalima
accusative	instrumental	instrumentale
vocative	instrumentale	instrumentali
locative	instrumentalu	instrumentalima
instrumental	instrumentalom	instrumentalima

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /íːnstrumɛntal/, /instrumɛntáːl/

Noun

ȋnstrumental or instrumentȃl m inan

1. (grammar) instrumental case

   Synonym: orodnik

2. (music) instrumental music

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• “instrumental”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /instɾumenˈtal/ [ĩns.t̪ɾu.mẽn̪ˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ins‧tru‧men‧tal

Adjective

instrumental m or f (masculine and feminine plural instrumentales)

1. instrumental

Derived terms

• caso instrumental
• instrumentalidad
• instrumentalmente
• música instrumental

 

Further reading

• “instrumental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28