Vi"o*la (?), n. [It. See Viol.]
(Mus.) An instrument in form and use resembling the violin, but larger, and a fifth lower in compass.
||Viola da braccio [It., viol for the
arm], the tenor viol, or viola, a fifth lower than the violin. Its part is written in the alto clef, hence it is sometimes called the alto. -- ||Viola da
gamba [It., viol for the
leg], an instrument resembling the viola, but larger, and held between the knees. It is now rarely used. -- ||Viola
da spalla [It., viol for the shoulder], an instrument formerly
used, resembling the viola, and intermediate in size between the viola and the
viola da gamba. --
||Viola di amore [It., viol of love: cf. F. viole d'amour], a viol, larger than the viola, having catgut strings upon, and brass or steel wires under, the keyboard. These, sounding sympathetically with the strings, yield a peculiarly soft and silvery sound. It is now seldom used.
||Vi"o*la (?), n. [L., a violet. See Violet.]
(Bot.) A genus of polypetalous herbaceous plants, including all kinds of violets.
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