Real Dictionary

viol
variable noun: Viols are a family of musical instruments that are made of wood and have six strings. You play the viol with a bow while sitting down.

viol in American English
any of an early family of stringed instruments played with a curved bow, characterized generally by six strings, frets, a flat back, and C-shaped sound holes: used chiefly in the 16th and 17th cent. in sizes from the treble viol to the bass viol
noun: 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

viol in British English
noun: any of a family of stringed musical instruments that preceded the violin family, consisting of a fretted fingerboard, a body rather like that of a violin but having a flat back and six strings, played with a curved bow. They are held between the knees whe