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viol

 - 5 dictionary results

vi⋅ol

  [vahy-uhl]
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–noun
a bowed musical instrument, differing from the violin in having deeper ribs, sloping shoulders, a greater number of strings, usually six, and frets: common in the 16th and 17th centuries in various sizes from the treble viol to the bass viol.
Origin:
1475–85; < MF viole (akin to OF viel(l)e > earlier E viele) < OPr viola, deriv. of violar to play the viola 1 (perh. imit.)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vi·ol   (vī'əl)   
n.  

  1. Any of a family of stringed instruments, chiefly of the 16th and 17th centuries, having a fretted fingerboard, usually six strings, and a flat back and played with a curved bow.

  2. See viola da gamba.


[Alteration of Middle English viel, from Old French viole, vielle, from Old Provençal viola; see viola1.]
viola da gam·ba   (gäm'bə, gām'-)   
n.  

  1. A stringed instrument, the bass of the viol family, with approximately the range of the cello. Also called bass viol, gamba, viol.

  2. An organ stop of eight-foot pitch yielding tones similar to those of the viola da gamba.


[Italian : viola, viol + da, of, for + gamba, leg.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

viol 
musical instrument, 1483, viel, from M.Fr. viole, from O.Fr., from O.Prov. viola (see viola).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Viol

Heb. nebel (Isa. 5:12, R.V., "lute;" 14:11), a musical instrument, usually rendered "psaltery" (q.v.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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