violin Hear it!

violin definition

vio·lin (vī′ə lin′)

adjective

designating the modern family of stringed instruments played with a bow, characterized by four strings tuned in fifths, a lack of frets, a somewhat rounded back, and f-shaped sound holes

noun

the smallest and highest-pitched instrument of this family, held horizontally under the chin, resting against the collarbone; fiddle

Etymology: It violino, dim. of viola, viola

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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