Gamba

name, noun

name, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of viola da gamba. abbreviation, alt-of
  2. 2
    The metacarpus or metatarsus of ruminants, etc.
  3. 3
    Gambling. countable, uncountable

    "Start a prediction on it. We want gamba!"

  4. 4
    viol that is the bass member of the viol family with approximately the range of the cello wordnet
  5. 5
    A rank of organ pipes, so called for a supposed resemblance of the sound to that of a viola da gamba.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Italian.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bass violbassooncelloclarinetclarioncornet

Example

More examples

"Mary has recently been playing the viola da gamba, an old string instrument whose sound she has fallen in love with."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From viola da gamba, ultimately from Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gam, gamb, jamb, and jambe.

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin gamba (“leg”); compare gambol. Doublet of gam, gamb, jamb, and jambe.

Etymology 3

Alteration of gamble.

Etymology 4

From the Italian surname, from the noun gamba (“leg”).

Related phrases

viola da gamba

More for "gamba"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.