lyre means 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1546, earned across 37 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lyre ranks #301 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #471 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #627 of 40,254 for Qualifying, #1,376 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words.
lyre is pronounced /ˈlaɪ.ə/.
Why “lyre” is a great word
A stringed instrument of classical antiquity, its soundbox and two graceful arms bridged by a yoke from which gut strings descend. Its lineage passes from the Ancient Greek λύρᾱ (lúrā, 'lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise'), through Latin lyra and Old French lire, into the Middle English lire (13th c.). Unlike the floor-standing harp, whose strings rise perpendicular to its body, or the lute, with its fretted neck and rounded back, the lyre is cradled in the arms, an open frame of exposed vibration. It is the sun-warmed tortoise shell against the palm, the soft shimmer of sheep-gut under a wandering thumb, the quiet resonance nestled in the crook of a singer's arm—the instrument not of orchestral grandeur but of intimate accompaniment, a sounding-box for the solitude of thought.
Etymology
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
- 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.
- 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.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- lyrism 78% match — The act of playing on a lyre or harp. vs lyre →
- lute 72% match — A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard. vs lyre →
- phorminx 62% match — A kind of lyre used by the Ancient Greeks. vs lyre →
- lyrately 60% match — In a lyrate manner. vs lyre →
- zithern 58% match — A zither vs lyre →
- lyriferous 58% match — Having a lyre-shaped shoulder girdle, as certain fishes do. vs lyre →
- dirge 58% match — A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person. vs lyre →
- lyrically 58% match — In a manner that is pleasing to hear, as singing or speaking; in a lyrical manner. vs lyre →