The violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the 16th century. At the time the name of this family of instruments was viole da braccio which was used to distinguish them from the viol family (viole da gamba). The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and (possibly) double bass. Instrument names in the violin family are all derived from the root viola, which is a derivative of the Medieval Latin word vitula (meaning "stringed instrument"). A violin is a "little viola", a violone is a "big viola" or a bass violin, and a violoncello (often abbreviated cello) is a "small violone" (or literally, a "small big viola"). (The violone is not part of the modern violin family; its place is taken by the modern double bass, an instrument with a mix of violin and viol characteristics.) Background The instruments of the violin family may be descended in part from the lira da braccio and the medieval Byzantine lira. While the cello (which developed from the bass violin), the viola and the violin are indisputable members of the ancestral violin or viola da braccio family, the double bass's origins are sometimes called into question. The double bass is sometimes taken to be part of the viol family, due to its sloping shoulders, its tuning, the practice of some basses being made with more than four strings and its sometimes flat back. Others point out that correlation does not imply causation and say that these external similarities are either arbitrary or that they arose from causes other than a relationship to the viol family. They point to the internal construction of the double bass, which includes a sound post and bass bar like other violin family instruments as a more weighty piece of evidence than the external features. Its origins aside, it has historically been used as the lowest member of the violin family. All string instruments share similar form, parts, construction and function, and the viols bear a particularly close resemblance to the violin family. However, instruments in the violin family are set apart from viols by similarities in shape, tuning practice and history. Violin family instruments have four strings each, are tuned in fifths (except the double bass, which is tuned in fourths), are not fretted and have four rounded bouts while always having a sound post and bass bar inside. In contrast,