Meaning

noun bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow

originEtymology tree Medieval Latin *vitulader. Old Occitan violabor.? Italian viola Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnus Italian -ino Italian violinoder. English violin Derived from Italian violino (“little viola”), from viola + -ino.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0