violin

Where does the word "violin" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin vitula, passing through Italian before entering English (1570s).

Violin’s story begins in Medieval Latin: vitula meant “a stringed instrument, or joy.” Possibly related to a goddess of joy and celebration, or to a stringed instrument. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Italian as violino. A diminutive form settled in Italian for the small, high-pitched bowed instrument. It reached English by 1570s as violin. Andrea Amati of Cremona made the first known violins in the 1500s. Today, violin means a four-stringed musical instrument played with a bow.

1. Stage 1 · Medieval Latin · medieval vitula "a stringed instrument, or joy", possibly related to a goddess of joy and celebration, or to a stringed instrument.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1500s violino "a small bowed stringed instrument", a diminutive form settled in Italian for the small, high-pitched bowed instrument.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1570s violin "a four-stringed bowed musical instrument", Andrea Amati of Cremona made the first known violins in the 1500s.