What does vihuela mean?
The vihuela is a name for a family of plucked string instruments with roots in medieval and Renaissance Spain. The best-known early form had five courses, or groups of strings, and is widely regarded as a principal ancestor of the modern guitar. In English-language musicology, “vihuela” often refers broadly to the Spanish instrument family and its variants, while in modern Mexico the name denotes a guitar-like six-string instrument with its own distinctive body, raised fretboard, and decorative sound-hole rosette. Players use the term for the instrument in performance and discussion, though the Mexican vihuela should not be treated simply as an archaic guitar. Its cultural history and direct relationship to the guitar make “vihuela” especially useful for readers interested in Renaissance music, Spanish colonial and Mexican instruments, or the development of plucked string instruments.
nounA family of plucked string instruments developed in Spain and later Mexico. The best-known early Spanish form had five courses and is regarded as a principal ancestor of the modern guitar, while the modern Mexican vihuela is a distinct guitar-like instrument.
- The historical Spanish plucked-string instrument or instrument family, especially the five-course Renaissance form regarded as an ancestor of the modern guitar.
- The modern Mexican vihuela, a guitar-like six-string instrument distinguished by its body shape, raised fretboard, and decorative sound-hole rosette.
"By the end of the Renaissance, the vihuela had become a central instrument in Spanish courtly music."
"The ensemble combined voices, flute, harp, and a vihuela in an interpretation of a Renaissance courtly piece."
"He tuned his Mexican vihuela before joining the mariachi group."
The standard English plural adds -s to refer to multiple instruments or members of the instrument family.
"The museum's collection includes two vihuelas made in Mexico."
Before the six-string guitar became standard, Spain's vihuela was already shaping the instrument's future.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vihuela
The word entered English from Spanish vihuela. Spanish in turn borrowed it from Medieval Latin vihuela, a diminutive of Latin viella, meaning “fiddle”; the same wider Latin tradition also produced cognates such as vielle, viola, viol, and violin.
How vihuela is actually used
The term is specialized in English. It commonly refers to the Renaissance Spanish instrument and its variants, while modern Mexican usage distinguishes the Mexican vihuela from both the early Spanish instruments and the ordinary guitar.
Easily confused with vihuela
A vihuela is a related but distinct instrument: the early Spanish vihuela is usually regarded as a five-course ancestor of the guitar, whereas the modern Mexican vihuela has its own characteristic body, six strings, and raised fretboard.