English
Etymology
From Middle English < Medieval Latin instrumentalis < instruere ("to build into, set up, construct, furnish," hence "to train") < in- ("on") + struere ("to put together, arrange, pile up, build, construct") < Proto-Indo-European Wiktionary Appendix:Proto-Indo-European roots|*streu- ("to spread, extend, stretch out").
Pronunciation
audio|en-us-instrumental.ogg|Audio (US)
Adjective
en-adj
- Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; essential or central.
#:He was instrumental in conducting the business.
#:Quotations
#:*The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth — Shakespeare, Hamlet, I,ii
- Music: Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, especially a musical instrument; as, instrumental music, distinguished from vocal music.
#:Quotations
#:*He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship. — Macaulay
#:*Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds. — Dryden
- Grammar: Applied to a case expressing means or agency�and is generally indicated in English by by or with with the objective; as, the instrumental case. This is found in Sanskrit as a separate case, but in Greek it was merged into the dative, and in Latin into the ablative. In Old English it was a separate case, but has disappeared, leaving only a few anomalous forms. It continues to be used in Slavic languages.
Derived terms
instrumental error
Noun
en-noun|s|-
- context|uncountable|grammar The instrumental case.
- context|countable|music A composition without lyrics.
Translations
trans-top|grammatical case
Bosnian: t-|bs|instrumental|m
Bulgarian: Ñ�воÑ�иÑ�елен падеж (tvorÃtelen padéž) m
Croatian: t-|hr|instrumental|m
Czech: t-|cs|sedmý pád|m
French: t+|fr|instrumental|m
German: Instrumental-Kasus m
Hungarian: eszközhatározó eset (using -vel|-val or -vel endings)
Icelandic: t+|is|tækisfall|n
trans-mid
Japanese: é� æ ¼ (ã��ã��ã��ã��, zoukakú), å�·æ ¼ (ã��ã��ã��, gukakú)
Russian: Ñ�воÑ�иÑ�елÑ�нÑ�й падеж (tvorÃtelâ��nyj padéž) m
Slovak: siedmy pád m, inštrumentál m
Slovene: t+|sl|orodnik|m
Spanish: t-|es|caso instrumental|m
Turkish: t-|tr|enstrümental
trans-bottom
Bosnian
Noun
bs-noun|g=m|instrumentali
- the instrumental case
Declension
bs-decl-noun
|instrumental|instrumentali
|instrumentala|instrumentala
|instrumentalu|instrumentalima
|instrumental|instrumentale
|instrumentale|instrumentali
|instrumentalom|instrumentalima
|instrumentalu|instrumentalima
Croatian
Noun
hr-noun|g=m|instrumentali
- the instrumental case
Declension
hr-decl-noun
|instrumental|instrumentali
|instrumentala|instrumentala
|instrumentalu|instrumentalima
|instrumental|instrumentale
|instrumentale|instrumentali
|instrumentalu|instrumentalima
|instrumentalom|instrumentalima
da:instrumental
fr:instrumental
io:instrumental
is:instrumental
pl:instrumental
pt:instrumental
ru:instrumental
sl:instrumental
fi:instrumental
te:instrumental
vi:instrumental
tr:instrumental
zh:instrumental
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