Clipped from Italian violoncello 'small large viola,' a diminutive of the augmentative violone.
A large stringed instrument of the violin family, held upright between the player's knees and played with a bow.
Shortened from Italian violoncello, itself a diminutive of violone 'large viol,' which is an augmentative of viola. So the cello is literally a 'small big viola.' The instrument emerged in the early 16th century in northern Italy. English speakers began dropping the 'violon-' prefix in the mid-19th century. Key