3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Lyre  \Lyre\,  n.  [OE.  lire,  OF  lyre,  L.  lyra,  Gr  ?.  Cf 
  {Lyra}.] 
  1.  (Mus.)  A  stringed  instrument  of  music;  a  kind  of  harp  much 
  used  by  the  ancients,  as  an  accompaniment  to  poetry. 
 
  Note:  The  lyre  was  the  peculiar  instrument  of  Apollo,  the 
  tutelary  god  of  music  and  poetry.  It  gave  name  to  the 
  species  of  verse  called  lyric,  to  which  it  originally 
  furnished  an  accompaniment 
 
  2.  (Astron.)  One  of  the  constellations;  Lyra.  See  {Lyra}. 
 
  {Lyre  bat}  (Zo["o]l.),  a  small  bat  ({Megaderma  lyra}), 
  inhabiting  India  and  Ceylon.  It  is  remarkable  for  the 
  enormous  size  and  curious  shape  of  the  nose  membrane  and 
  ears. 
 
  {Lyre  turtle}  (Zo["o]l.),  the  leatherback. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  lyre 
  n  :  a  harp  used  by  ancient  Greeks  for  accompaniment 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  LYRE,  n.  An  ancient  instrument  of  torture.  The  word  is  now  used  in  a 
  figurative  sense  to  denote  the  poetic  faculty,  as  in  the  following 
  fiery  lines  of  our  great  poet,  Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox: 
 
  I  sit  astride  Parnassus  with  my  lyre, 
  And  pick  with  care  the  disobedient  wire. 
  That  stupid  shepherd  lolling  on  his  crook 
  With  deaf  attention  scarcely  deigns  to  look 
  I  bide  my  time,  and  it  shall  come  at  length, 
  When  with  a  Titan's  energy  and  strength, 
  I'll  grab  a  fistful  of  the  strings,  and  O, 
  The  word  shall  suffer  when  I  let  them  go! 
  Farquharson  Harris 
 
 
  M 
 
 
 

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