viol
/ˈvaɪ.əl/noun, verb
viol is a noun meaning “A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled V-I-O-L, and it appears about once in every 5 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of viol is viols.
What does viol mean?
noun
- 1
A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold.
- 2
A large rope used to manipulate the anchor
verb
- 1
To play the viol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce viol?
- /ˈvaɪ.əl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-vial.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-vile.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of viol
- viols plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- violing US, participle, present
- violling UK, participle, present
- violed US, participle, past
- violled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is viol?
Viol appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Words people confuse with viol
Sounds like: vial, vile (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Viol in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stringed instrument:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | viole de gambe |
| German | Gambe, Viola da Gamba, Kniegeige |
| Portuguese | viola da gamba |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does viol come from?
Borrowed from Middle French viole, from Old French viol, from Old Occitan viola (modern Occitan viula), from Medieval Latin vitula (“stringed instrument”). Doublet of viola.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).