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definitions

bass viol

[beys]
noun
  1. viola da gamba.
  2. double bass.

Origin of bass viol

First recorded in 1580–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bass viol

Historical Examples of bass viol

  • The cornet and bass-viol had put in an appearance, but the pianist had been lost in the shuffle.

    The Underdog

    F. Hopkinson Smith

  • Then Roxy took her place, and Heman bent over his bass-viol.

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • That bass-viol slipped a little for'ard when we come down Lamson's Hill.

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • The bass-viol had its mortal wound; he could have laid both fists into the hole.

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • There was a clearing of throats; then Mr. Fiddleman gave the key on the bass-viol.

    Winning His Way

    Charles Carleton Coffin

British Dictionary definitions for bass viol

bass viol

noun
  1. another name for viola da gamba
  2. US a less common name for double bass (def. 1)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bass viol in Culture

bass viol

[(veye-uhl)]

The largest and lowest-pitched instrument of the strings, also called a bass fiddle or double bass. The player must stand or sit on a tall stool to play it.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.