viola

English

Etymology 1

From Latin viola (“violet”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈviː.ələ/, /ˈvaɪələ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /vaɪˈoʊlə/, /vɪˈoʊlə/, /ˈvaɪ.ələ/

Noun

viola (plural violas)

1. (botany) Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Viola, including the violets and pansies.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Italian viola, from Old Occitan viola (modern Occitan viula), from Medieval Latin vitula (“stringed instrument”), possibly from Frankish *fiþulā (“violin, fiddle”). Doublet of viol. Also possibly a doublet of fiddle.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /viˈəʊ.lə/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /viˈoʊ.lə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊlə

Noun

viola (plural violas or (senses 1 and 2, uncommon) viole)

1. A stringed instrument of the violin family, somewhat larger than a violin, played under the chin, and having a deeper tone.
2. A person who plays the viola.
3. (music) An organ stop having a similar tone.
4. (music) A 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar, used in Brazilian folk music.
5. (music) A berimbau viola, the smallest member of the berimbau used in capoeira music.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 3

Interjection

viola

1. (often humorous) Misconstruction of voila.
   • 1988, “Hey Vern, It's Pets”, in Hey, Vern, It's Ernest! (television production), spoken by Dr. Otto (Jim Varney):

     And viola, Eureka California! I have finished my greatest invention: the worst dog in the world!

   • 2011, Hedge Funds for Dummies:

     [...] ; you fill out a form; you write your check; and viola! You're a mutual fund shareholder.

References

Further reading

• Viola (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Category:Violas on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Viola (Violaceae) on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• Ivalo, oliva, voila, voilà, volia

Afrikaans

Noun

viola (plural violas)

1. a viola (string instrument).

   Synonym: altviool

2. violist

   Synonyms: altvioolspeler, altviolis

Related terms

• viool

Asturian

Asturian Wikipedia has an article on:

viola

Wikipedia ^ast

Adjective

viola (epicene, plural violes)

1. violet

Noun

viola m (plural violes)

1. violet (colour)

viola f (plural violes)

1. violet (flower)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin viola.

Noun

viola f (plural violes)

1. viola (flowering plant of the genus Viola)

Derived terms

• viola alba (V. alba)
• viola boscana (V. sylvestris, now V. reichenbachiana)
• viola canina (V. canina)
• viola groga (Caltha palustris)
• viola d'olor or viola vera (V. odorata)

Etymology 2

Uncertain, probably from Occitan viula, derivative of viular (“playing a string instrument” or “wind”).

Noun

viola f (plural violes)

1. viola (musicial instrument)

Noun

viola m or f by sense (plural violes)

1. violist

   Synonym: violista

Etymology 3

Noun

viola f (plural violes)

1. leapfrog

   Synonym: saltar i parar

Etymology 4

Verb

viola

1. inflection of violar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “viola” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “viola”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “viola” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “viola” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Noun

viola f

1. viola (musical instrument of the violin family)

Declension

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ola
• Hyphenation: vi‧o‧la

Adjective

viola (accusative singular violan, plural violaj, accusative plural violajn)

1. of or relating to the flower violet
2. the color of such flowers, violet
   violet:  

   Synonym: violkolora

Finnish

Etymology

From Italian viola.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋiolɑ/,
• Rhymes: -iolɑ
• Syllabification^(key): vi‧o‧la

Noun

viola

1. (music) viola

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• “viola”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-04

Anagrams

• Ivalo, Olavi, loiva, lovia, olvia, valio, valoi

French

Verb

viola

1. third-person singular past historic of violer

Anagrams

• lovai, voila, voilà, volai

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

viola

Wikipedia ^it

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin viola.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /viˈɔ.la/, /ˈvjɔ.la/
• Rhymes: -ɔla
• Hyphenation: vi‧ò‧la, viò‧la

Adjective

viola (invariable)

1. purple, violet

   Synonyms: violetto, violaceo

Noun

viola f (plural viole)

1. viola, violet (plant)

   Synonym: violetta

2. violet, purple (color)

   Synonym: violetto

Derived terms

• violacciocca
• violaceo

Etymology 2

Possibly from Old Occitan viola (modern Occitan viula), ultimately from Medieval Latin *vitula (“stringed instrument”), which could be related to the goddess Latin vitula.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /viˈɔ.la/, /ˈvjɔ.la/
• Rhymes: -ɔla
• Hyphenation: vi‧ò‧la, viò‧la

Noun

viola f (plural viole)

1. (music) viola
2. (music) fiddle

Derived terms

• viola da braccio
• viola da gamba
• viola del pensiero

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “violin”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvi.o.la/
• Rhymes: -iola
• Hyphenation: vì‧o‧la

Verb

viola

1. inflection of violare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

See also

References

Further reading

• viola in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• oliva, ovali, voilà, volai

Latin

Etymology 1

Related to Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”) (from ϝίον). Probably from a pre-I.E. Mediterranean substrate language. See also Middle Persian wnpšk'.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯i.o.la/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.o.la/,

Noun

viola f (genitive violae); first declension

1. violet (flower)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Descendants

References

• “viola”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “viola”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• viola in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Etymology 2

From violō.

Verb

violā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of violō

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: vi‧o‧la

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese viola, from Old Occitan viola, from Medieval Latin vitula, from vitula, Roman goddess of joy and victory.

Noun

viola f (plural violas)

1. (music) viola (a bowed instrument larger than a violin)
2. (music) viol (a bowed instrument of the violin family held between the legs)
3. (music) viola; viola caipira (10-string acoustic guitar used in Brazilian folk music)
4. (music, Brazil, loosely or endearing) acoustic guitar
5. guitarfish (any of the rays in the Rhinobatidae family)

Synonyms

• (viol): viola da gamba
• (viola caipira): viola caipira
• (acoustic guitar): violão, guitarra
• (guitarfish): cação-viola, raia-viola, arraia-viola

Derived terms

Related terms

• viola da gamba
• violino
• violoncelo

Descendants

• → Malay: biola
  • Indonesian: biola

Etymology 2

Verb

viola

1. inflection of violar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French violer, from Latin violō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vioˈla/

Verb

a viola (third-person singular present violează, past participle violat) 1st conj.

1. to violate
2. to rape

Conjugation

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

viola

Wikipedia ^es

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbjola/
• Rhymes: -ola
• Syllabification: vio‧la

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian viola.

Noun

viola f (plural violas)

1. viola (musical instrument)
2. (Argentina, slang) electric guitar

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

viola

1. inflection of violar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “viola”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014