aeolian lyre
- noun
- /iˈoʊliən laɪər/
- The aeolian lyre creates haunting melodies as the breeze moves through its strings.
Examples
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He installed an aeolian lyre in his garden to enjoy the music of the wind.
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In romantic poetry, the aeolian lyre often symbolizes inspiration from nature.
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The aeolian lyre produces enchanting sounds.
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Did you hear the aeolian lyre in the garden?
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He installed an aeolian lyre in his garden to enjoy the music of the wind.
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The aeolian lyre creates haunting melodies as the breeze moves through its strings.
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In romantic poetry, the aeolian lyre often symbolizes inspiration from nature.
Synonyms
An instrument like a harp with many strings that the wind moves to make sound
An instrument with strings that the wind plays to make soft music
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'Aeolian' means wind-driven and 'lyre' is a stringed instrument, so an 'aeolian lyre' is an instrument sounded by the wind. This adjective+noun combination follows a transparent semantic composition that a learner who knows both words can infer without prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun aeolian lyre comes from a simple picture: an aeolian lyre is a harp-like instrument with many strings that the 'wind' blows across, so the strings move and make music by themselves. That's why the term means an instrument played by the 'wind' and why poets use it as a picture of 'inspiration from nature'.