Víol. n.s. [violle, Fr. viola, Ital.] A stringed instrument of musick.

        My tongue's use is to me no more,
Than an unstringed viol, or a harp. Shakesp.

To strain a string, stop it with the finger, as in the necks of lutes and viols. Bacon.

Loud o'er the rest Cremona's trump doth sound;
Me softer airs befit, and softer strings
Of lute, or viol, still more apt for mournful things. Milton.