Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Lyre
1.
(Mus.)
A stringed instrument of music; a kind of harp much used by the ancients, as an accompaniment to poetry.
☞ 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.)
One of the constellations; Lyra. See
Lyra
. Lyre bat
(Zool.)
, 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
(Zool.)
, the leatherback.
Webster 1828 Edition
Lyre
LYRE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
lyre
lyre
See also: lyře
English
A lyre
Noun
lyre (plural lyres)
- (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.
- 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.
Related terms
Synonyms
- (a general class of instruments): yoke lute
References
- 2012. Kisir and Tanbura. Dahab Khalil and Artur Simon. Pg. 96.
- 2007. Origins and Development of Musical Instruments. Jeremy Montagu. Pg. 128.
Translations
stringed musical instrument
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lyre-shaped music holder
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External links
- lyre in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- lyre in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911