lyre

Etymology

From Ancient Greek λύρᾱ (lúrā, “lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise”). Doublet of lira and Lyra.

noun

1. 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.
   1. Any instrument of the same musicological classification; any yoke lute.
2. A lyre-shaped sheet music holder that attaches to a wind instrument when a music stand is impractical.
3. (obsolete) A composer of lyric poetry.

verb

1. (rare) to play the lyre