violist

UK: /vɪˈəʊlɪst/, /ˈvaɪəlɪst/

US: (vē ō′list for the viola; vī′ə list for the viol)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

vi•ol•ist¹  (vī′ə list), n. 

1. Music and Dance a person who plays the viol.

• viol + -ist 1660–70

vi•o•list²  (vē ō′list), n. 

1. Music and Dance a person who plays the viola.

• viol(a)¹ + -ist

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

violist / vɪˈəʊlɪst/ noun

1. a person who plays the viola

violist / ˈvaɪəlɪst/ noun

1. a person who plays the viol
   Also (archaic): violer

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

vi•o•la¹ /viˈoʊlə/   n. [countable] , pl. -las. 

1. Music and Dance a musical instrument of the violin family, slightly larger than the violin.

vi•ol•ist, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

vi•o•la¹  (vē ō′lə), n. 

1. Music and Dance a four-stringed musical instrument of the violin family, slightly larger than the violin;
   a tenor or alto violin.
2. Music and Dance a labial organ stop of eight-foot or four-foot pitch, giving tones of a penetrating stringlike quality.

• Old Provencal viola; see viol
• Italian viola
• 1715–25

vi•o•la²  (vī′ə lə, vī ō′-, vē-), n. 

1. Plant Biology any plant of the genus Viola, esp. a cultivated variety. Cf. pansy (def. 1), violet (defs. 1, 2).
2. Plant Biology a pansy, V. cornuta, cultivated as a garden plant.

• Latin: violet
• late Middle English: violet 1400–50

Vi•o•la  (vī′ə lə, vē′-; vī ō′lə, vē-), n. 

1. a female given name.