violas
plural of viola
• Alviso
Source: Wiktionary
Vi"o*la, n. Etym: [L., a violet. See Violet.] (Bot.)
Definition: A genus of polypetalous herbaceous plants, including all kinds of violets.
Vi"o*la, n. Etym: [It. See Viol.] (Mus.)
Definition: An instrument in form and use resembling the violin, but larger, and a fifth lower in compass. Viola da braccio Etym: [It., viol for the arm], the tenor viol, or viola, a fifth lower than the violin. Its part is written in the alto clef, hence it is sometimes called the alto.
– Viola da gamba Etym: [It., viol for the leg], an instrument resembling the viola, but larger, and held between the knees. It is now rarely used.
– Viola da spalla Etym: [It., viol for the shoulder], an instrument formerly used, resembling the viola, and intermediate in size between the viola and the viola da gamba.
– Viola di amore Etym: [It., viol of love: cf. F. viole d'amour], a viol, larger than the viola, having catgut strings upon, and brass or steel wires under, the keyboard. These, sounding sympathetically with the strings, yield a peculiarly soft and silvery sound. It is now seldom used.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
6 May 2025
(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
