clavier

Clavier is the French word for keyboard, used to refer to the set of keys on a musical instrument as well as the keyboard on a computer or other device. In French, the term covers both musical and digital keyboards, and it is commonly found in technical and everyday language.

In English-language musicology, clavier can denote keyboard instruments as a family, including the clavichord, harpsichord, and piano, or the keyboard part of an instrument. The term appears in historical contexts and repertoire discussion, such as Bach’s Clavier-Übung, a celebrated collection of keyboard music published in several parts during the 18th century. The word is also used to distinguish keyboard music from other instrumental media in some scholarly writings.

Etymology traces clavier to the French word clavier, which derives from Latin clavis meaning “key,” through historical forms that designated a device operated by keys. In modern French, clavier remains the standard term for both musical keyboards and computer keyboards, while in English usage the word appears primarily in historical or scholarly contexts.

Beyond its linguistic use, the concept of the clavier underpins a wide range of keyboard instruments and literature, from early 17th-century dance suites to contemporary electronic keyboards. The term thus reflects both a linguistic heritage and a broad, enduring role of the keyboard in music and technology.