vi|o|la

vi|o|la¹ «vee OH luh, vy-», noun.

1. a musical instrument shaped like a violin, but slightly larger; tenor or alto violin. A viola has four strings tuned a fifth below a violin. It is held like a violin while being played.

2. a string-toned organ stop, usually of 8-foot pitch, sometimes 4-foot or 16-foot pitch, and similar to the gamba; viola d'orchestre.

╂[< Italian viola < Medieval Latin vitula. See etym. of doublet viol. (Cf. ↑viol)]

vi|o|la² «VY uh luh, vy OH-», noun.

1. any one of a group of low, herbaceous plants, including the violets and pansies, that bear single white, yellow, purple, or variegated flowers, especially any one of several hybrid garden plants distinguished from the pansy by a more delicate and uniform coloring of the flowers.

2. a small, perennial garden pansy.

╂[< New Latin Viola the genus name < Latin viola violet]