lyre
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lyre
- /ˈlaɪ.ə/ UK
- /lɑə̯ ~ lɑː/ UK
- /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/ US
- /laɪɹ/ US
Sounds like lire (general), liar, lier (disyllabic), la, lar, lour (tar-tyre-tower merger) · Rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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.
noun lyres
- 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.
- A composer of lyric poetry.
Similar: yoke lute
verb lyres · lyring · lyred
- to play the lyre Alas, far times ago / A woman lyred here / In the evenfall; one who fain did so / From year to year; / And, in loneliness bending wistfully, / Would wake each note / In sick sad rote, / None to listen or see!
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: yoke lute
Translations
Talk about this word "lyre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lyre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lyre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lyre "lyre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lyre.Cite this
@misc{lyre_2026,
title = {lyre},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lyre},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
