viola C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction US /viˈoʊlə/ UK /viˈəʊlə/ See IPA manual 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 violinvioloncelloviolviolinist Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown