double bass viol

noun

: a very large member of the viol family tuned an octave below the bass viol

Probably only toward the end of the sixteenth century was a true, six-string, double bass viol … developed that was large enough to have strings capable of sounding at sixteen-foot pitch throughout its range.—

Jeffery Kite-Powell, ed., A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music, 2nd edition, 2007

called also violone

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of double bass viol was in 1837

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Double bass viol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double%20bass%20viol. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

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