/vuy"euhl/ , n.
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.
[ 1475-85; viole (akin to OF viel ( l ) e > earlier E viele ) viola, deriv. of violar to play the VIOLA 1 (perh. imit.) ]