lyre
- noun
- /ˈlaɪər/
- Lily listened too and heard faraway strumming on a lyre and faint drumbeats.
- lyre strings
The longer the lyre string, the lower the note.
- The longer the lyre string, the lower the note.
Examples
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Eliot's artist, while sleeping by his lyre, composes a song inspired by the Muses.
Academic text (2016) -
Music and writing coexist as King David strums the chords on his lyre.
Academic text (2006) -
The longer the lyre string, the lower the note.
-
Now all we have to do is find a lyre.
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Bring me a small lyre.
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Now, is the lyre in harmony with itself in the same way that the bow is?
-
Only the nightingale, with his lyre of gold, was permitted to sing for the princess.
Fiction book (2000) -
To be like Socrates, who, when sentenced to death, learned to play the lyre.
Academic text (2011) -
In the painting, one of the daughters of Hesperus holds a lyre.
Academic text (2016) -
In ancient Greece, the musicians played beautiful melodies on their lyre during festivals.
Synonyms
An ancient Greek instrument with strings played by professional musicians
An ancient Greek string instrument like a small harp that trained musicians play
An ancient triangular string instrument used in Greece and Rome
A string instrument like a small harp that the wind plays to make music
Compounds
- US
A mildly venomous snake with a V-shaped mark on its head that lives in rocky areas
- Specialized
A snake that lives in deserts of southwestern North America with a lyre-shaped mark on its head
How Complex
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word lyre comes from the ancient Greek word lyra, a small harp poets used to accompany singing. A helpful way to remember it is that lyre is the same root as lyric, which means 'words meant to be sung', so a lyre is the instrument for songs and poems.