*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of viola

From Latin viola (“violet”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Viola, including the violets and pansies.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin viola (“violet”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionviolala
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "taxlink",
      "args": {
        "1": "Viola mandsurica",
        "2": "species",
        "3": "Viola mandshurica"
      },
      "expansion": "Viola mandshurica"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "viola",
        "4": "",
        "5": "violet"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin viola (“violet”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Viola",
      "Viola"
    ],
    [
      "viola",
      "viola#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Viola, including the violets and pansies."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "41e7b0217d24f3608d92c9e9226cd07ca5467f096f2345e1cc8d0b0c50ab6170",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f8f1e95bba2d77a465c4f79114eac0685bc02955613d3abe116fa2c0fedd2e34",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 255236
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A bowed tenor instrument larger than a violin but smaller than a cello, used in orchestras and string quartets. · An organ stop with a similar tone. · A 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar used in Brazilian folk music. · A berimbau viola, the smallest member of the berimbau used in capoeira music.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "viola"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian viola"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pro",
        "3": "viola"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Occitan viola"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "vitula",
        "t": "stringed instrument"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin vitula (“stringed instrument”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*fiþulā",
        "t": "violin, fiddle"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *fiþulā (“violin, fiddle”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "viol"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of viol"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fiddle",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of fiddle"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "viola",
      "viola#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "viola",
      "viola#Old_Occitan"
    ],
    [
      "viula",
      "viula#Occitan"
    ],
    [
      "vitula",
      "vitula#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*fiþulā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/fiþulā"
    ],
    [
      "viol",
      "viol#English"
    ],
    [
      "fiddle",
      "fiddle#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A bowed tenor instrument larger than a violin but smaller than a cello, used in orchestras and string quartets.",
        "An organ stop with a similar tone.",
        "A 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar used in Brazilian folk music.",
        "A berimbau viola, the smallest member of the berimbau used in capoeira music."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "fcecc7b8f0a7a26aa7d2bae3b88f7bbf26e44746234c6253dc6395439b8a5318",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 255237
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for viola →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dmlvbGE