Plural of cello; the stringed musical instruments similar to violins but larger and with a deeper tone, played by drawing a bow across strings.
From Italian violoncello (literally 'little big viol'), shortened to cello. The plural celli uses the Italian plural form, though 'cellos' is now more common in English.
The cello is the only instrument where you sit down to play it, which completely changed how composers wrote for it—Bach's cello suites are masterpieces specifically designed around that seated, intimate playing position.
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