1. A stringed instrument, the bass of the viol family, with approximately the range of the cello. Also called bass viol, gamba, Also called viol.
2. An organ stop of eight-foot pitch yielding tones similar to those of the viola da gamba.

[Italian : viola, viol + da, of, for + gamba, leg.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.