lyre
UK /ˈlaɪ.ə/ · US /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/ noun, verb
Also a form of leer
Forms lyres lyring lyred
- noun (music) 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.
- noun Any instrument of the same musicological classification; any yoke lute.
- noun A lyre-shaped sheet music holder that attaches to a wind instrument when a music stand is impractical.
- noun (obsolete) A composer of lyric poetry.
- verb (rare) to play the lyre
Synonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A stringed instrument of music; a kind of harp much used by the ancients, as an accompaniment to poetry.
- noun One of the constellations; Lyra. See Lyra. Lyre bat (Zoöl.), a small bat (Megaderma lyra), inhabiting India and Ceylon. It is remarkable for the enormous size and curious shape of the nose membrane and ears.
Etymology [OE. lire, OF. lyre, L. lyra, Gr. Lyra.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lyre”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details