Skip to content
Vinony

lyre

noun

  1. string instrument from Greek classical antiquity
L17859 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪ.ə/ / /lɑə̯ ~ lɑː/ / /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English lire (13th c.), from Old French lire, from Latin lyra, from Ancient Greek λύρᾱ (lúrā, “lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise”). Doublet of lira, lyra, and Lyra.

  1. An ancient stringed musical instrument (a yoke lute chordophone) of Greek origin, consisting of two arms extending from a body to a crossbar (a yoke), and strings, parallel to the soundboard, connecting the body to the yoke.
  2. An ancient stringed musical instrument (a yoke lute chordophone) of Greek origin, consisting of two arms extending from a body to a crossbar (a yoke), and strings, parallel to the soundboard, connecting the body to the yoke.
  3. A lyre-shaped sheet music holder that attaches to a wind instrument when a music stand is impractical.
  4. A composer of lyric poetry.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English lire (13th c.), from Old French lire, from Latin lyra, from Ancient Greek λύρᾱ (lúrā, “lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise”). Doublet of lira, lyra, and Lyra.

  1. to play the lyre

    “Alas, far times ago / A woman lyred here / In the evenfall; one who fain did so / From year to year; / And, in loneliness bending wistfully, / Would wake each note / In sick sad rote, / None to listen or see!”