Violin etymology

1. How did the violin get its name?
2. What is the etymology of fiddle and violin?
3. What was the violin originally called?
4. What is violin in Old English?
5. What is the oldest instrument?
6. Is the violin African?
7. What does violin mean in Latin?
8. Why fit as a fiddle?
9. Is viola a Latin word?
10. What do Americans call a violin?
11. Who invented violin and why?
12. Is the violin Italian?
13. Who invented the violin and why?
14. When was the word violin first used?
15. How many Stradivarius violins are missing?
16. Why did Einstein play violin?
17. Why did Einstein learn violin?

How did the violin get its name?

The word “violin” comes from Italian violino, a diminutive form of viola, which owes its roots to Medieval Latin vitula (“stringed instrument”). This latin word is believed to stem from Vitula, Roman goddess of joy, or from related Latin verb vitulari, “to exult, be joyful.”

What is the etymology of fiddle and violin?

The etymology of fiddle is uncertain: it probably derives from the Latin fidula, which is the early word for violin, or it may be natively Germanic. The name appears to be related to Icelandic Fiðla and also Old English fiðele.

What was the violin originally called?

The Arabian rabab and the rebec, which came from the orient in the middle ages and was played widely in Spain and France in the fifteenth century, are said to be the ancestors of the violin. Near the end of the middle ages, a bowed stringed instrument called a fiddle appeared in Europe.

What is violin in Old English?

The violin is often called a fiddle, either when used in a folk music context, or even in Classical music scenes, as an informal nickname for the instrument. The word "fiddle" was first used in English in the late 14th century.

What is the oldest instrument?

The oldest musical instrument in the world (60,000 years) The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute is a treasure of global significance. It was discovered in Divje babe cave near Cerkno and has been declared by experts to have been made by Neanderthals.

Is the violin African?

String Instruments in Africa

While the violin family (including the cello, fiddle, viola, etc.) isn't originally from Africa, there are similar instruments in the continent that have been there since the 5th century in certain regions.

What does violin mean in Latin?

The word 'violin' originates from the Latin 'Vitula' (see chart). The word 'vitulare' meant 'to sing or rejoice'. 'Vitula' also referred to a fiddle, as well as a calf or heifer (were these words related by the fact that the heifer was used for making the gut strings of the fiddle?).

Why fit as a fiddle?

The violin was picked out as the exemplar because of the alliteration of fit and fiddle, and because the violin is a beautifully shaped instrument producing a very particular sound. But then fit came to mean 'in good physical shape' and so fit as a fiddle came to mean 'in good condition physically'.

Is viola a Latin word?

Etymology 1

From Latin viola (“violet”).

What do Americans call a violin?

Western classical players sometimes use “fiddle” as an affectionate term for the violin, that intimate companion and workmate. But in the United States, most often “fiddle” means the violin as used in Irish-Scottish-French traditional music and all the descendant American styles: Appalachian, bluegrass, Cajun, etc.

Who invented violin and why?

The credit for the first violin is usually given to a Cremonese luthier named Andrea Amati who had made his name originally as a lute builder. He created at least two three string violins in the 1540s. He was then commissioned to build one of the first four-string violins by the wealthy Medici family in the 1550s.

Is the violin Italian?

Most historians agree that today's violin emerged in the early 16th century in northern Italy, an area which would maintain the violin-making tradition over the coming centuries. Maple and spruce, the two types of wood most favored by violin makers then and since, were readily available in the Lombardy region.

Who invented the violin and why?

The credit for the first violin is usually given to a Cremonese luthier named Andrea Amati who had made his name originally as a lute builder. He created at least two three string violins in the 1540s. He was then commissioned to build one of the first four-string violins by the wealthy Medici family in the 1550s.

When was the word violin first used?

violin (n.)

1570s, from Italian violino, diminutive of viola (see viola).

How many Stradivarius violins are missing?

Only about 650 surviving Stradivarius violins exist, and many of them are in the hands of private collectors, safely hidden from public view. There are even fewer cellos, about 55, and about 12 violas.

Why did Einstein play violin?

Einstein was six when his mother Pauline, herself an accomplished pianist, arranged for him to take violin lessons. But the instrument was a dutiful chore until he discovered the violin sonatas of Mozart at age 13. From that moment on, music became an enduring passion.

Why did Einstein learn violin?

Einstein learnt to play the violin to fulfill the desire of his mother. Was this answer helpful?