LYRE
lyre
(noun) a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
lyre (plural lyres)
(musical instrument) 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.
Any instrument of the same musicological classification; any yoke lute.
A lyre-shaped sheet music holder that attaches to a wind instrument when a music stand is impractical.
(obsolete) A composer of lyric poetry.
Synonyms
• (a general class of instruments): yoke lute
Homophones
• lire
Anagrams
• Ryle, rely
Source: Wiktionary
Lyre, n. Etym: [OE. lire, OF. lyre, L. lyra, Gr. Lyra.]
1. (Mus.)
Definition: A stringed instrument of music; a kind of harp much used by the ancients, as an accompaniment to poetry.
Note: The lyre was the peculiar instrument of Apollo, the tutelary god of music and poetry. It gave name to the species of verse called lyric, to which it originally furnished an accompaniment
2. (Astron.)
Definition: One of the constellations; Lyra. See Lyra. Lyre bat (Zoƶl.), 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.
– Lyre turtle (Zoƶl.), the leatherback.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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