Vingt-et-Un, vangt-ā-ung′, n. a game of cards, the aim in which is to get as near as possible to the value of twenty-one (hence the name) without exceeding it. The game is played with the whole pack, the ordinary cards being reckoned according to the number of pips on them, while the court cards are ten, and the ace is one or eleven, as the holder may elect.
Vint, vint, v.t. to make or prepare, as wine. [Formed from vintage.]
Vintage, vin′tāj, n. the gathering of grapes: the yearly produce of grapes: the time of grape-gathering: wine.—n. Vin′tāger. [Fr. vendange—L. vindemia—vinum, wine, grapes, demĕre, to remove—de, out of or away, emĕre, to take.]
Vintner, vint′nėr, n. a wine-seller.—ns. Vint′nery, the trade of a vintner; Vint′ry, a store for wine. [O. Fr. vinetier, through Low L.—L. vinetum, a vineyard—vinum, wine.]
Viol, vī′ol, n. a musical instrument which was the immediate precursor of the violin, having from three to six strings, and played by means of a bow.—ns. Viola (vē-ō′la, or vī′ō-la), a larger description of violin having four strings tuned in fifths, to which the part between the second violin and bass is generally assigned—also called Alto viola or Tenor violin; Vī′ol-block (naut.), a large single block big enough to reeve a small hawser; Vī′olist, a player on the viol or the viola.—Bass viol, a large medieval viol: the modern violoncello. [O. Fr. viole—Low L. vidula, from L. vitulāri, to skip like a calf, to make merry—L. vitulus, a calf.]
Violate, vī′ō-lāt, v.t. to injure: to abuse: to ravish: to profane: to break forcibly: to transgress.—adj. Vī′olable, that may be violated, injured, or broken.—adv. Vi′olably.—ns. Vīolā′tion, the act of violating or injuring: infringement: non-observance: profanation: rape; Vī′olātor. [L. violāre, -ātum—vis, strength; cf. Gr. is, strength, force.]
Violent, vī′ō-lent, adj. acting with physical force or strength: moved by strong feeling: passionate: vehement: outrageous: produced by force: intense: compulsory: unnatural.—v.i. (Shak.) to be violent.—n. Vī′olence, the state or quality of being violent: force, physical or moral: unjust force: outrage: profanation: injury: rape.—adv. Vī′olently.—Do violence on (Shak.), to attack, murder; Do violence to, to outrage, injure. [Fr.,—L. violentus—vis, force.]
Violet, vī′ō-let, n. any plant of genus Viola, of many species, with a flower generally of some shade of blue, but also white and yellow, and most often fragrant: the colour of the violet, a bluish or light purple.—adj. of the colour of the violet, bluish or light purple.—adjs. Violā′ceous, of a violet colour, purple; Violes′cent, tending to a violet colour. [Fr. violette, dim. of O. Fr. viole—L. viola; cf. Gr. ion.]
Violin, vī-ō-lin′, n. a musical instrument of four strings placed with a bow: a fiddle: a player on the violin.—ns. Violin′-bow, a bow for sounding the violin; Vī′olinist, a player on the violin. [It. violino—viola.]
Violoncello, vē-ō-lon-chel′ō, or vī-ō-lon-sel′ō, n. a large four-stringed musical instrument of the violin class, the quality of its tone even more sympathetic than that of the violin, held between the knees in playing—it superseded the Viol da gamba in the early part of the 18th century:—pl. Violoncell′os.—n. Violoncell′ist, a player on the violoncello. [It., dim. of violone, a bass violin; see next word.]