cello

Etymology

It is a shortening of violoncello,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} which comes from Italian violoncello, a diminutive of violone (“bass viol”),^[3][5][2] itself an augmentative of viola.^[5][3] Italian took viola from Old Occitan viola.^[5][3] German shortened the word to Cello by 1813, while Italian cello is apparently not recorded until the second half of the 20th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The large bass instrument of the violin family: 1848, in a letter of H. Grote.^[2][8] Etymonline dates the word to 1857, and Barnhart to 1876.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The full form violoncello is recorded in English from 1724.^[2][3] The clipped form was long written ’cello, with an apostrophe marking the lost syllables; in 1954 a commentator quoted by the OED argued that the word had become English and no longer needed it.^[2][9][4] From 1857 cello also meant a cello player in an orchestra.^[2][8] The player is called a cellist, a word formed from cello and recorded from 1888.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1724 – the full form violoncello in English.^[2][3]
• 1813 – German Cello.^[2]
• 1848 – the bass instrument of the violin family.^[2][8]
• 1857 – a cello player.^[2]
• 1888 – cellist.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large bowed stringed instrument of the violin family, with four strings tuned an octave below the viola, played upright by a seated player and resting on a spike on the floor: She has played the cello since she was seven.^[8][10][2]
2. A cello player, especially in an orchestra; a cellist.^[8][2]

Word family

• cellist
• violoncello

Related words

• violone
• viola
• viol
• violin
• fiddle

Usage notes

The plural is usually cellos, less often celli, after the Italian plural of violoncello.^[8][9][2] A separate American cello, made of or wrapped in cellophane, is a shortening of cellophane.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins