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lyre - 4 dictionary results
lyre
[lahyuh
r] 
–noun
| 1. | a musical instrument of ancient Greece consisting of a soundbox made typically from a turtle shell, with two curved arms connected by a yoke from which strings are stretched to the body, used esp. to accompany singing and recitation. |
| 2. | (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Lyra. |
Origin:
1175–1225; ME lire < L lyra < Gk lýra
1175–1225; ME lire < L lyra < Gk lýra
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To lyre
| lyre (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.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lyre
Lyre\, n. [OE. lire, OF. lyre, L. lyra, Gr. ?. Cf. Lyra.]1. (Mus.) 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.) One of the constellations; Lyra. See Lyra. Lyre bat (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), the leatherback.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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lyre
c.1205, from O.Fr. lire, from L. lyra, from Gk. lyra, a foreign word of uncertain origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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