cello

¹ American  

[chel-oh] / ˈtʃɛl oʊ /

noun

cellos plural

1. the second largest member of the violin family, rested vertically on the floor between the performer's knees when being played.

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cello ² American  

[sel-oh] / ˈsɛl oʊ /

noun

Informal.

1. cellophane.

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cello British  

/ ˈtʃɛləʊ /

noun

1. Full name: violoncello.  music a bowed stringed instrument of the violin family. Range: more than four octaves upwards from C below the bass staff. It has four strings, is held between the knees, and has an extendible metal spike at the lower end, which acts as a support

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cello Cultural  

1. An instrument in the violin family, known for its rich tone. Among the strings, or stringed instruments, the cello has the second-lowest range, higher only than the bass viol, and it has the lowest part in string quartets. Cellists hold the instrument between their knees to play it. Cello is short for violoncello.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cellist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cellos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cello¹

First recorded in 1875–80; short for violoncello

Origin of cello²

By shortening

Explanation

A cello is a large, stringed musical instrument. A cellist has to sit in a chair to play a cello. One end of a cello rests on the floor as it's played, with the neck upright. The cellist forms notes with her fingers on the strings and pulls a bow across the body of the cello. Cellos are an important part of an orchestra, though they're often featured in contemporary popular music as well. The word is short for the Italian violincello, which ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin vitula, "stringed instrument."

Example Sentences

Weilerstein joins him for the Dvořák Cello Concerto in B Minor, part of her schedule of roughly 80 performances each season.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 11, 2023

Van Zweden will make his first appearance on Sept. 27, with a gala featuring the cellist Yo-Yo Ma as the soloist in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2023

“Makeshift Castle” by Julia Adolphe, which premiered at Tanglewood last year, will be performed again in August, paired with Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring Ma as soloist.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2023

At the orchestra’s opening concert in 1920, Edward Elgar conducted his Cello Concerto, which he’d written recently.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2022

I finger the notes of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman