viola

C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /viˈoʊlə/ UK /viˈəʊlə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a stringed instrument slightly larger and lower-pitched than the violin

She set down her violin and took up the mellower viola.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a stringed instrument... fiddle

Word family

Derived forms violist

Related forms violin violoncello viol violinist

Etymology

From Italian 'viola', from Old Provençal 'viola', from Medieval Latin 'vitula' ('stringed instrument'), perhaps from 'vitulari' ('to rejoice, celebrate').

viola Latin vitula Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

# viola

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** viˈoʊlə
**IPA (UK):** viˈəʊlə

## Meanings
1. a stringed instrument slightly larger and lower-pitched than the violin

## Examples
- She set down her violin and took up the mellower viola.

## Synonyms
- fiddle

## Derived Forms
- violist

## Related Forms
- violin
- violoncello
- viol
- violinist

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: viola
- Root: vitula

## Etymology
From Italian 'viola', from Old Provençal 'viola', from Medieval Latin 'vitula' ('stringed instrument'), perhaps from 'vitulari' ('to rejoice, celebrate').

## AI Etymology
Viola comes from Italian 'viola', from Old Provençal 'viola', from Medieval Latin 'vitula' ('stringed instrument'), perhaps from 'vitulari' ('to rejoice, celebrate'). In current use it is a noun meaning "a stringed instrument slightly larger and lower-pitched than the violin". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The uncertainty belongs to the etymology itself and should be kept: the older ancestry is not presented as more secure than it is. The historical chain includes Italian viola and Latin vitula. Related English forms include violin, violoncello, viol, and violinist. A derived form is violist. The safest dictionary treatment is to keep the secure forms and the uncertainty together, since the doubtful step is part of the word's history rather than a gap to fill by guesswork.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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viola

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