You guys have got it all wrong. A violin is an instrument. "Fiddle" is a verb, meaning to make small, fidgety adjustments to something, usually to no avail. The noun "fiddle" is a back-formation from the verb.

In the olden days, country fiddlers could only afford mediocre instruments, and they devised a style involving mostly eighth notes in order to keep people from dwelling too long on the sound of any one of them. They also hadn't much training. (Of course, they accomplished a lot with what they had.)

If you don't believe me, check the Fiddler's Fake Book, which could have the alternate title, "50,000 Eighth Notes."

More than once I have heard a good tune in a session, looked it up in the Fiddler's Fake Book and discovered that the melody has virtually disappeared in a welter of eighth notes. The songs are often improved by judicious insertion of a few quarter notes or even (gasp!) dotted quarter notes.

But before the classical violinists get too cocky, I would like to mention that Smithsonian Magazine had an article about an institute in New York that treats musicians for repetitive-motion injuries,and the head doc said that the violin seemed to have been designed to destroy the human right arm. Perhaps it is time to change some of the demands we make on these performers.