Sextuplet

Full definition of sextuplet

Noun

1. A group of six objects.
2. One of a group of six persons or animals born from the same mother during the same birth.
3. (music) A group of six notes played in the time of four.
1. (music, proscribed) A group of six notes played in the time of four, with accents on the first, third and fifth notes.
2. (music, proscribed) A group of six notes played in the time of four, with accents on the first and fourth notes; a double triplet.
3. (music, proscribed) A group of six notes played in the time of four, with an accent only on the first note.

Usage notes

Some authorities (for instance, Hugo Riemann, Theodore Bacon and Franklin Taylor) consider the double triplet to be a "false sextuplet", others (for instance, Evangelos Sembos, John Stainer and William Alexander Barrett) define the sextuplet solely as the double triplet, and still others (such as Antoine Damour, Aimable Burnett, and Élie Elwart) do not differentiate between the two.

Synonyms

• (six notes played in the time of four) sextolet

Coordinate terms

• (one of six born together) twin