lyre

a stringed musical instrument
Not to be confused with:liar – a person who does not tell the truth; falsifier, perjurer, prevaricator: a dirty, rotten liar

lyre

L0308700 (līr)n. A stringed instrument of the harp family having two curved arms connected at the upper end by a crossbar, used to accompany a singer or reciter of poetry, especially in ancient Greece.

[Middle English lire, from Old French, from Latin lyra, from Greek lura.]

lyre

(laɪə) n1. (Instruments) an ancient Greek stringed instrument consisting of a resonating tortoise shell to which a crossbar was attached by two projecting arms. It was plucked with a plectrum and used for accompanying songs2. (Instruments) any ancient instrument of similar design3. (Instruments) a medieval bowed instrument of the violin family[C13: via Old French from Latin lyra, from Greek lura]

lyre

art at lytta (laɪ^ər)

n. 1. a small harplike musical instrument of ancient Greece used esp. to accompany singing and recitation. 2. (cap.) the constellation Lyra. [1175–1225; Middle English lire < Latin lyra < Greek lýra]

Thesaurus

Noun

lyre - a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompanimentharp - a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingerstrigon - a triangular lyre of ancient Greece and Rome

Translations

lir

lyre

lyre,

generic term for stringed musical instruments having a sound box from which project curved arms joined by a crossbar. The strings are stretched between the crossbar and the sound box and are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. In ancient times Sumer, Babylonia, Israel, and Egypt had various sorts of lyres. Ancient Greece had two lyres—the kitharakithara
or cithara
, musical instrument of the ancient Greeks. It was a plucked instrument, a larger and stronger form of the lyre, used by professional musicians both for solo playing and for the accompaniment of poetry and song.
..... Click the link for more information. , which was the larger instrument used by the professional musician, and the lyra, the smaller instrument of the amateur. Each had from 3 to 12 strings, made of hemp. The tuning and playing techniques of modern lyres in E Africa are thought to be similar to those of ancient Greece and Egypt. After the 10th cent. the lyres of N European countries were bowed instead of being plucked. The bowed lyre that persisted longest was the Welsh crwth, known as early as the 11th cent. and still in use in the early 19th cent. At some time in its history a fingerboard was added, making it an early member of the violin family.

Lyre

an ancient Greek plucked string instrument with a flat body and curved sides and seven to 11 strings. It was tuned to a five-tone scale. The lyre was played as an accompaniment to the recitation of epic and lyric poetry (hence the term “lyric”). Metaphorically, the lyre is the emblem or symbol of the arts.

G. I. BLAGODATOV

lyre

1. an ancient Greek stringed instrument consisting of a resonating tortoise shell to which a crossbar was attached by two projecting arms. It was plucked with a plectrum and used for accompanying songs 2. any ancient instrument of similar design 3. a medieval bowed instrument of the violin family

Acronym

Definition

LYRE➣Literature for Young Readers (Youngstown State University; Youngstown, OH)

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Words related to lyre

noun a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment

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