any of the numerous plants of the genus Viola
"The children spent their afternoon gathering various species of viola to press into a book."
large genus of flowering herbs of temperate regions
"The viola is a large genus of flowering herbs found in many temperate regions around the world."
a bowed stringed instrument slightly larger than a violin, tuned a fifth lower
"The cellist played alongside the viola to fill out the low end of the orchestra's sound."
A stringed instrument of the violin family, somewhat larger than a violin, played under the chin, and having a deeper tone.
"The gardener carefully transplanted the viola from the nursery to her sunny garden bed."
Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Viola, including the violets and pansies.
In plain English: A viola is a stringed musical instrument that looks and sounds similar to a violin but has four strings tuned lower and produces deeper tones.
"She sat beside her mother in the orchestra and played the viola with gentle grace."
Usage: Do not confuse this musical instrument with the "violin," which is smaller and has a higher pitch. When referring to the plant, ensure you distinguish between common garden varieties like violets and pansies based on their specific botanical classifications.
Misconstruction of voila
"The musician's frantic bowing suggested she had confused her instrument, thinking it was a viola when it was actually part of a misconstructed voila joke."
A female given name from Latin
"Viola was chosen as her middle name because she loved its classical roots and elegant sound."
The word comes from the Latin viola, which originally meant the violet flower. It traveled into English to refer to both the musical instrument and a type of stringed bowing device that shares its name with this small purple bloom.