See Also: Lyre(medicine)
lyre(dictionary)
lyre(encyclopedia)
lyre(dictionary)
lyre bird(medicine)

lyre (iou)



lyre noun. ME.
[Old French lire (mod. lyre) from Latin LYRA.]
A plucked stringed musical instrument having strings fixed between a crossbar supported by two arms; spec. such an ancient Greek instrument with outwardly curved arms, usu. played with a plectrum and used to accompany song and recitation. ME.
(Usu. Lyre.) (The name of) the constellation Lyra. M19.
Comb.: lyre-bird either of two mainly ground-dwelling Australian birds forming the family Menuridae, Menura novaehollandiae and M. alberti, which have a lyre-shaped tail; lyre-flower the plant bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis; lyre-shaped adjective shaped like a lyre with outwardly curved arms; lyre-tail any of a number of cyprinodont fishes with coloured tails suggesting lyres.