Viola

Viola
/vuy"euh leuh, vee"-; vuy oh"leuh, vee-/, n.
a female given name.

* * *

Stringed instrument, the tenor member of the violin family.

In appearance it is almost identical to the violin but slightly larger; its strings are tuned a fifth lower. It is a member of many chamber music ensembles, and the modern orchestra uses 6 to 10 violas. Its tone is darker, warmer, and less powerful than the violin's, and it is rarely employed as a solo instrument. The viola d'amore is an 18th-century instrument with six or seven melody strings, under which are strung several sympathetic strings that resonate in concord with the sounded pitches.

* * *

▪ plant genus
 genus of about 500 species of herbs or low shrubs, including the small, solid-coloured violets and the larger-flowered, often multicoloured violas and pansies. Viola occur naturally worldwide but are found most abundantly in temperate climates, with the greatest variety occurring in the Andes Mountains of South America.

 Wild Viola may be annuals or perennials. Because Viola freely hybridize, however, it is often difficult to identify their species. The flower, variable in colour, but not red, usually grows singly on a stalk and has five petals, four arranged in unlike pairs, the fifth with a spur (see photograph—>). The leaves may grow on the same stalk as the flower (stemmed violets) or on separate stalks (stemless violets). Though the best-known Viola have heart-shaped leaves, the leaves of other species may have different shapes.

      Typically, Viola grow in meadows or damp woods. All wild species bloom early in the spring, but some cultivated varieties bloom later. Many species have two types of flowers. One type is showy and appears in the spring but often does not produce seeds in some species. The fertile, less conspicuous flower appears in the early summer and is completely closed and self-fertilizing.

      Among the most common North American species are the common blue, or meadow, violet (V. papilionacea) and the bird's-foot violet (V. pedata). The common blue violet grows up to 20 cm (8 inches) tall and has heart-shaped leaves with finely toothed margins. The flowers range in colour from light to deep violet, or they may be white. The bird's-foot violet, a perennial named for its deeply cleft leaves, has variably coloured flowers, with lilac and purple combinations.

      Species of Viola have been widely cultivated in gardens and nurseries. The popular florist's violets, consisting of several hybrids (many of them V. odorata) are usually called sweet violets.

      The pansy is a hybrid that has been grown in gardens for centuries. The so-called African violet belongs not to Violaceae, in the order Malpighiales, but to Gesneriaceae, in the order Lamiales.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Viola — Viola, WI U.S. village in Wisconsin Population (2000): 667 Housing Units (2000): 319 Land area (2000): 1.053815 sq. miles (2.729368 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.053815 sq. miles (2.729368 sq …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • viola — vìola ž DEFINICIJA glazb. 1. pov. srednjovjekovni gudaći instrument; vihuela, vielle 2. altovski gudaći instrument sličan violini, mekana zvuka, tamnijeg od violinskog, u gudačkom sastavu po opsegu između violine i violončela SINTAGMA viola alta… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Viola — Vi o*la, n. [It. See {Viol}.] (Mus.) An instrument in form and use resembling the violin, but larger, and a fifth lower in compass. [1913 Webster] {Viola da braccio} [It., viol for the arm], the tenor viol, or viola, a fifth lower than the violin …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • VIOLA (B.) — VIOLA BILL (1951 ) Les vidéos de Bill Viola présentent la particularité de pouvoir regrouper des systèmes de rationalité et des modes purement intuitifs, des méthodes scientifiques et des pensées orientales, des images à la fois hautement… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • viola (1) — {{hw}}{{viola (1)}{{/hw}}A s. f. Pianta erbacea delle Parietali con fiori variamente colorati e frutto a capsula | Viola del pensiero, con foglie inferiori cuoriformi e superiori allungate, coltivata per i fiori violetti, gialli e bianchi, molto… …   Enciclopedia di italiano

  • viola — VIOLÁ vb. 1. a batjocori, a necinsti, a silui, (Transilv.) a căzni, (înv.) a ruşina, a sili, a spurca, (fig.) a pângări. (A viola o femeie.) 2. a forţa, a sparge, a strica, (înv.) a silnici. (A viola încuietoarea uşii.) 3. v. profana. 4. v.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Viola — Sf Bratsche per. Wortschatz fach. (15. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus it. viola, dessen weitere Herkunft nicht sicher geklärt ist.    Ebenso nndl. altviool, ne. viola, nfrz. viole, nschw. viola, nisl. víóla; Bratsche, Gambe, Violine. ✎ Relleke… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • viola — (n.) tenor violin, 1797, from It. viola, from O.Prov. viola, from M.L. vitula stringed instrument, perhaps from Vitula, Roman goddess of joy (see FIDDLE (Cf. fiddle)), or from related L. verb vitulari to exult, be joyful. Viola da gamba bass viol …   Etymology dictionary

  • VIOLA — inter flores tertium, post rosam nempe liliumque, iuxta Plinium, l. 21. c. 26. in vernis floribus coronariis primum locum, teste Paschaliô, obtinet, utpote veris praenuntia, quam ob causam Graeci ἴον dixêre, παρὰ τὸ ἀνιέναι ταχὺ, quod statim… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Viola — Vìōla (Viȏla) DEFINICIJA ONOMASTIKA ž. os. ime, usp. Ljubica pr.: Vìōla (Zagreb, Rijeka, Istra, Osijek), Vȉolić (230, Dubrovnik) ETIMOLOGIJA lat. Viola …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Viola — (Лакс,Швейцария) Категория отеля: Адрес: 7031 Лакс, Швейцария Описание …   Каталог отелей

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”