Editing Viol (section)

==Similar names and common confusions==
The viola da gamba is occasionally confused with the [[viola]], the alto member of the modern [[violin]] family and a standard member of both the symphony orchestra and string quartet. In the 15th century, the Italian word "{{lang|it|viola}}" was a generic term used to refer to any bowed instrument, or [[fiddle]]. The word "{{lang|it|viola}}" existed in Italy before the vihuela, or first viol, was brought from Spain. In Italy, "{{lang|it|viola}}" was first applied to ''a braccio'' precursor to the modern violin, as described by Tinctoris (''De inventione et usu musice'', {{circa|1481}}–3), and then was later used to describe the first Italian viols as well. Depending on the context, the unmodified ''[[Viola da braccio (instrument)|viola da braccio]]'' most regularly denoted either an instrument from the violin family, or specifically the viola (whose specific name was ''"alto de viola da braccio"''). When Monteverdi called simply for ''"viole da braccio"'' in "Orfeo", the composer was requesting violas as well as treble and bass instruments. The full name of the viola, namely ''"alto de viola da braccio"'', was finally shortened to ''"viola"'' in some languages (e.g. English, Italian, Spanish) once viols became less common, while other languages picked some other part of the phrase to designate the instrument, e.g. "{{lang|fr|alto}}" in French and "{{lang|de|Bratsche}}" in German (the latter derived from the Italian "{{lang|it|braccio}}").
[[File:Benning Violins viola da gamba.jpeg|thumb|right|Modern era "viola de gamba" crafted by violinmakers Hans and Nancy Benning of [[Benning Violins]] in 1982 in Los Angeles.]]
Some other instruments have ''viola'' in their name, but are not a member of the ''viola da gamba'' family. These include the [[viola d'amore]] and the [[viola pomposa]]. Though the [[baryton]] does not have ''viola'' in its name, it is sometimes included in the viol family. Whether it is considered a member of this family is a matter of semantics. It is [[Organology|organologically]] closely related to the viola da gamba proper, but if we think of the family as the group of differently sized instruments that play together in consorts, the baryton would not be among this group. {{citation needed|date=May 2018}} The names ''viola'' (Italy) and ''vihuela'' (Spain) were essentially synonymous and interchangeable. According to viol historian Ian Woodfield, there is little evidence that the ''vihuela de arco'' was introduced to Italy before the 1490s. The term ''"viola"'' was never used exclusively for viols in the 15th or 16th centuries. In 16th century Italy, both ''"violas",''—the early viols and violins—developed somewhat simultaneously. While violins, such as those of Amati, achieved their classic form before the first half of the century, the viol's form standardized later in the century at the hands of instrument makers in England.

Viola da gamba, ''viola cum arculo'', and ''vihuela de arco'' are some (true) alternative names for viols. Both "vihuela" and "viola" were originally used in a fairly generic way, having included even early violins (''[[Viola da braccio (instrument)|viola da braccio]]'') under their umbrella. It is common enough (and justifiable) today for modern players of the viola da gamba to call their instruments ''violas'' and likewise to call themselves ''violists''. That the "alto violin" eventually became known simply as the "viola" is not without historical context, yet the ambiguity of the name tends to cause some confusion. The violin, or ''violino'', was originally the soprano ''viola da braccio'', or ''violino da braccio''. Due to the popularity of the soprano violin, the entire consort eventually took on the name "violin family". Some other names for viols include ''viole'' or ''violle'' (French). In [[Elizabethan English]], the word "gambo" (for gamba) appears in many permutations; e.g., "viola de gambo", "gambo violl", "viol de gambo", or "viole de gambo", used by such notables as [[Tobias Hume]], [[John Dowland]], and [[William Shakespeare]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]''. Viol da Gamba and Gamba also appear as string family [[stop (organ)|stop]]s on the [[pipe organ]]. These stops are sounds created by organ pipes made to imitate the sound of the viol da gamba.