A lyre is a stringed instrument that looks like a small harp.
lyre in British English
(laɪə)
noun
1.
an ancient Greek stringed instrument consisting of a resonating tortoise shell to which a crossbar was attached by two projecting arms. It was plucked with a plectrum and used for accompanying songs
2.
any ancient instrument of similar design
3.
a medieval bowed instrument of the violin family
Word origin
C13: via Old French from Latin lyra, from Greek lura
lyre in American English
(laɪr)
noun
a small stringed instrument of the harp family, used by the ancient Greeks to accompanysingers and reciters
Idioms:
the Lyre
Word origin
ME lire < L lyra < Gr
Examples of 'lyre' in a sentence
lyre
She picked the lyre up and strummed the strings thoughtfully.