# viola
## English
### Etymology 1

From Latin viola (“violet”).

#### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈviː.ələ/, /ˈvaɪələ/
* (US) IPA: /vaɪˈoʊlə/, /vɪˈoʊlə/, /ˈvaɪ.ələ/

#### Noun

viola (plural violas)
* (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: /viˈəʊ.lə/
* (US, Canada) IPA: /viˈoʊ.lə/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊlə

#### Noun

viola (plural violas or (senses 1 and 2, uncommon) viole)
* A stringed instrument of the violin family, somewhat larger than a violin, played under the chin, and having a deeper tone.
** 1997 August 9, Edward Rothstein, “A Comeback for the Viola. No Joking.”, in The New York Times‎:But those who attack violists shouldn't throw resin. Once the ergonomic viola catches on what instrument will be immune?
** 1999 April 25, James E. Oestreich, “MUSIC; Violists Are the Twin Stars Of an Orchestral Galaxy”, in The New York Times‎:Also in that series, without Mr. Masur's guiding hand, Ms. Phelps and Ms. Young will anchor performances of Bach's Sixth "Brandenburg" Concerto, in which violas carry the upper lines.
* A person who plays the viola.
* (music) An organ stop having a similar tone.
* (music) A 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar, used in Brazilian folk music.
* (music) A berimbau viola, the smallest member of the berimbau used in capoeira music.

##### Derived terms

* viola clef
* viola paradon
* viola zither
* violist, violaist

##### Related terms

* viola da braccio
* viola da gamba
* viola d'amore
* viola di bordone
* viola pomposa

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Etymology 3
#### Interjection

viola
* (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

* ↑ “Compact Oxford English Dictionary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2009 November 28 (last accessed), archived from the original on 15 September 2007
* ↑ “Collins English Dictionary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2009 November 28 (last accessed), archived from the original on 18 February 2010
* ↑ “American Heritage Dictionary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2009 November 28 (last accessed), archived from the original on 13 February 2010
* ↑ (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2009 November 28 (last accessed), archived from the original on 30 January 2010
* ↑ Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
* ↑ “American Heritage Dictionary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, 2009 November 28 (last accessed), archived from the original on 31 December 2008

### 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)
* a viola (string instrument).
    Synonym: altviool
* violist
    Synonyms: altvioolspeler, altviolis

#### Related terms

* viool

## Asturian
### Adjective

viola (epicene, plural violes)
* violet

### Noun

viola m (plural violes)
* violet (colour)

### Noun

viola f (plural violes)
* violet (flower)

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [biˈɔ.lə]
* IPA: (Balearic) [viˈɔ.lə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [viˈɔ.la]

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin viola.

#### Noun

viola f (plural violes)
* 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)
* viola (musicial instrument)

#### Noun

viola m or f by sense (plural violes)
* violist
    Synonym: violista

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

viola f (plural violes)
* leapfrog
    Synonym: saltar i parar

### Etymology 4
#### Verb

viola
* inflection of violar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** 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, 2025
* “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
* viola (musical instrument of the violin family)

#### Declension
## Dutch
### Etymology

From Italian viola. Doublet of viool and vedel.

### Noun

viola f (plural viola's, diminutive violaatje n)
* Synonym of altviool (“viola”)

## Esperanto
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [viˈola]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ola
* Hyphenation: vi‧o‧la

### Adjective

viola (accusative singular violan, plural violaj, accusative plural violajn)
* of or relating to the flower violet
* the color of such flowers, violet violet:
    Synonym: violkolora

## Finnish
### Etymology

From Italian viola.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈʋiolɑ/, [ˈʋio̞lɑ̝]
* Rhymes: -iolɑ
* Hyphenation: vio‧la

### Noun

viola
* (music) viola

#### Declension

Possessive forms of viola (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
violani
violani
accusative
nom.
violani
violani
gen.
violani
genitive
violani
violoideni violoitteni violaini $^{rare}$
partitive
violaani
violoitani
inessive
violassani
violoissani
elative
violastani
violoistani
illative
violaani
violoihini
adessive
violallani
violoillani
ablative
violaltani
violoiltani
allative
violalleni
violoilleni
essive
violanani
violoinani
translative
violakseni
violoikseni
abessive
violattani
violoittani
instructive
comitative
—violoineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
violasi
violasi
accusative
nom.
violasi
violasi
gen.
violasi
genitive
violasi
violoidesi violoittesi violaisi $^{rare}$
partitive
violaasi
violoitasi
inessive
violassasi
violoissasi
elative
violastasi
violoistasi
illative
violaasi
violoihisi
adessive
violallasi
violoillasi
ablative
violaltasi
violoiltasi
allative
violallesi
violoillesi
essive
violanasi
violoinasi
translative
violaksesi
violoiksesi
abessive
violattasi
violoittasi
instructive
comitative
—violoinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
violamme
violamme
accusative
nom.
violamme
violamme
gen.
violamme
genitive
violamme
violoidemme violoittemme violaimme $^{rare}$
partitive
violaamme
violoitamme
inessive
violassamme
violoissamme
elative
violastamme
violoistamme
illative
violaamme
violoihimme
adessive
violallamme
violoillamme
ablative
violaltamme
violoiltamme
allative
violallemme
violoillemme
essive
violanamme
violoinamme
translative
violaksemme
violoiksemme
abessive
violattamme
violoittamme
instructive
comitative
—violoinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
violanne
violanne
accusative
nom.
violanne
violanne
gen.
violanne
genitive
violanne
violoidenne violoittenne violainne $^{rare}$
partitive
violaanne
violoitanne
inessive
violassanne
violoissanne
elative
violastanne
violoistanne
illative
violaanne
violoihinne
adessive
violallanne
violoillanne
ablative
violaltanne
violoiltanne
allative
violallenne
violoillenne
essive
violananne
violoinanne
translative
violaksenne
violoiksenne
abessive
violattanne
violoittanne
instructive
comitative
—violoinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
violansa
violansa
accusative
nom.
violansa
violansa
gen.
violansa
genitive
violansa
violoidensa violoittensa violainsa $^{rare}$
partitive
violaansa
violoitaan violoitansa
inessive
violassaan violassansa
violoissaan violoissansa
elative
violastaan violastansa
violoistaan violoistansa
illative
violaansa
violoihinsa
adessive
violallaan violallansa
violoillaan violoillansa
ablative
violaltaan violaltansa
violoiltaan violoiltansa
allative
violalleen violallensa
violoilleen violoillensa
essive
violanaan violanansa
violoinaan violoinansa
translative
violakseen violaksensa
violoikseen violoiksensa
abessive
violattaan violattansa
violoittaan violoittansa
instructive
comitative
—violoineen violoinensa :

#### Derived terms

* violisti

### 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
* third-person singular past historic of violer

### Anagrams

* lovai, voila, voilà, volai

## Italian
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin viola.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /viˈɔ.la/, /ˈvjɔ.la/
* Rhymes: -ɔla
* Hyphenation: vi‧ò‧la, viò‧la

#### Adjective

viola (invariable)
* purple, violet
    Synonyms: violetto, violaceo

#### Noun

viola f (plural viole)
* viola, violet (plant)
    Synonym: violetta
* 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: /viˈɔ.la/, /ˈvjɔ.la/
* Rhymes: -ɔla
* Hyphenation: vi‧ò‧la, viò‧la

#### Noun

viola f (plural viole)
* (music) viola
* (music) fiddle

##### Derived terms

* viola da braccio
* viola da gamba
* viola del pensiero

##### Descendants

* → English: viola

#### Further reading

* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “violin”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈvi.o.la/
* Rhymes: -iola
* Hyphenation: vì‧o‧la

#### Verb

viola
* inflection of violare:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### See also

Colors in Italian · colori (layout · text) :
| bianco | argento; grigio | nero |
| rosso; cremisi | arancione; marrone; bronzo | giallo; oro; crema |
| verde chiaro; limetta | verde | verde acqua; acquamarina; verde menta; verde menta scuro |
| ciano; azzurro; celeste; blu petrolio; foglia di tè | azzurro; celeste; celeste scuro | blu; blu scuro |
| violetto; indaco | magenta; viola | rosa; fucsia; porpora |

### References

* 1 2 3 4 5 viola in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

### 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 Latin) IPA: /ˈu̯i.o.la/, [ˈu̯iɔɫ̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈvi.o.la/, [ˈviːolä]

#### Noun

viola f (genitive violae); first declension
* violet (flower)

##### Declension

First-declension noun.

##### Descendants

* Aromanian: yioarã
* Catalan: viola
* Occitan: viòla
* English: viola, violet
* French: violette, violet
* Italian: viola, violetta
* Piedmontese: viòla, violëtta
* Romanian: vioară, violă
* Spanish: viola, violeta

#### 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
* second-person singular present active imperative of violō

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /viˈɔ.lɐ/ [vɪˈɔ.lɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈvjɔ.lɐ/
* (Brazil) IPA: /viˈɔ.lɐ/ [vɪˈɔ.lɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈvjɔ.lɐ/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /viˈɔ.la/ [vɪˈɔ.la], (faster pronunciation) /ˈvjɔ.la/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈvjɔ.lɐ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈvjɔ.lɐ/
** (Northern Portugal) IPA: /ˈbjɔ.lɐ/
* 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)
* (music) viola (a bowed instrument larger than a violin)
* (music) viol (a bowed instrument of the violin family held between the legs)
* (music) viola; viola caipira (10-string acoustic guitar used in Brazilian folk music)
* (music, loosely or endearing) acoustic guitar
* 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

* adeus viola
* cação-viola
* enfiar a viola no saco
* meter a viola no saco
* raia-viola
* viola bastarda
* viola braguesa
* viola caipira
* viola de amor
* viola de arame
* viola de braço
* viola francesa
* viola pomposa
* viola sertaneja
* violão
* violeiro
* violinha (diminutive)
* violista

##### Related terms

* viola da gamba
* violino
* violoncelo

##### Descendants

* → Malay: biola
** Indonesian: biola

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

viola
* inflection of violar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French violer, from Latin violō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /vioˈla/

### Verb

a viola (third-person singular present violează, past participle violat) 1st conjugation
* to violate
* to rape

#### Conjugation
## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbjola/ [ˈbjo.la]
* Rhymes: -ola
* Syllabification: vio‧la

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian viola.

#### Noun

viola f (plural violas)
* viola (musical instrument)
* (Rioplatense, slang) electric guitar

##### Derived terms

* viola matronal

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

viola
* inflection of violar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “viola”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10