Meanings
plural lyres
- entertainmentAn 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.
- entertainmentAny 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.
- obsoleteA composer of lyric poetry.
present singular third person lyres · participle present lyring · participle past lyred · past lyred
- rareto 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!
1922, Thomas Hardy, “Penance”, in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, London: Macmillan and Co., […], →OCLC, page 143
Synonyms & antonyms
a general class of instruments
Origin
- Ancient Greekλύρᾱ“lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise”
- Latinlyra
- Old Frenchlire
- Middle Englishlire
- Englishlyre
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.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek λύρα, κιθάρα
- λύρα (lúra)stringed musical instrument
- κιθάρα (kithára)stringed musical instrument
- φόρμιγξ (phórminx)stringed musical instrument
Arabic كِنَّارَة
- كِنَّارَة (kinnāra)stringed musical instrument
Basque lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Bulgarian лира
- лира (lira)stringed musical instrument
Catalan lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Chinese 里拉
- 里拉 (lǐlā)stringed musical instrument
Czech lyra
- lyrastringed musical instrument
Danish lyre
- lyrestringed musical instrument
Dutch lier
- lierstringed musical instrument
Esperanto liro
- lirostringed musical instrument
Estonian lüüra
- lüürastringed musical instrument
Finnish lyyra
- lyyrastringed musical instrument
French lyre
- lyrestringed musical instrument
German Leier, Lyra
- Leierstringed musical instrument
- Lyrastringed musical instrument
Greek λύρα
- λύρα (lýra)stringed musical instrument
Hebrew כִּנּוֹר
- כִּנּוֹר (kinnór)stringed musical instrument
Hungarian líra
- lírastringed musical instrument
Icelandic lýra, lýra
- lýralyre-shaped music holder
- lýrastringed musical instrument
Irish lir
- lirstringed musical instrument
Italian lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Japanese ライアー
- ライアー (raiā)stringed musical instrument
Latin lyra
- lyrastringed musical instrument
Lithuanian lyra
- lyrastringed musical instrument
Persian چنگ, چنگ رومی
- چنگ (čang)stringed musical instrument
- چنگ رومی (čang-e rumi)stringed musical instrument
Polish lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Portuguese lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Romanian liră
- lirăstringed musical instrument
Russian ли́ра
- ли́ра (líra)stringed musical instrument
Slovak lýra
- lýrastringed musical instrument
Spanish lira
- lirastringed musical instrument
Swahili lira, kinubi kidogo
- lirastringed musical instrument
- kinubi kidogostringed musical instrument
Swedish lyra
- lyrastringed musical instrument
Turkish lir
- lirstringed musical instrument
Welsh telyn gron
- telyn gronstringed musical instrument
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lyre
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lyre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lyre
“lyre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lyre. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lyre,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lyre.
Source: lyre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.