violonchelo

cello

noun byoh-lohn-CHEH-loh Rare

Origin: From Italian 'violoncello', diminutive of 'violone' (large viol).

Usage Note

Violonchelo is the full Spanish spelling of the cello; the shortened form chelo is widely used in speech and informal writing. A player is violonchelista or simply chelista. The instrument is masculine: el violonchelo. Note that the v at the start is pronounced as a b in Spanish — byoh-lohn-CHEH-loh — following the standard Spanish merger of /b/ and /v/.

Examples

"Toca el violonchelo en la orquesta sinfónica."

Natural Translation

She plays the cello in the symphony orchestra.

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