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Lyra
Definitions
- 1 A summer constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a lyre. It includes the bright star Vega and the Ring Nebula.
- 2 A female given name from Ancient Greek. rare
"A little parapet ran all the way around the square roof, and Pantalaimon often draped his pine-marten form over the mock-battlements on the corner facing south, and dozed while Lyra sat below with her back against the sun-drenched stone, studying the books she'd brought up with her."
- 1 The middle portion of the ventral surface of the fornix of the brain. dated
"The vessels of the brain generally are often distended and gorged with blood, the lyra especially being fully injected."
- 2 A vertically suspended hoop used in acrobatic performances.
- 3 A bowed string musical instrument used in the Byzantine Empire.
"A Persian scholar of the early tenth century, lbn Khurradadhbih, reported the lyra to be in widespread use throughout the empire, along with organs and bagpipes."
- 4 A bowed instrument used in folk music in Crete, Greece.
"According to the Greek musicologist Fivos Anoyanakis, the piriform lyras of Crete have, at various times throughout history, been produced in different sizes and styles."
Etymology
So called from the arrangement of the lines with which it is marked in the human brain.
From Ancient Greek λῠ́ρᾱ (lŭ́rā) or Modern Greek λύρα (lýra). Doublet of lira, Lyra, and lyre.
Borrowed from Latin Lyra/lyra, from Ancient Greek λύρα (lúra, “a lyre; the constellation Lyra”). Doublet of lira, lyra, and lyre.
See also for "lyra"
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Unscramble this word: lyra