Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lyre” come from?

Lyre comes from Ancient Greek λύρα, a stringed musical instrument of unknown ultimate origin.

lyre (English): An ancient stringed musical instrument of Greek...

Definitions

  1. An ancient stringed musical instrument of Greek...

Ancestry of “lyre”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlire—
2Old Frenchlireto read; to be read
3Latinlegō—
4Latinlēx—
5Proto-Italiclēg-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “lyre”

  • lyrist
  • lyrism
  • lyrebird
  • lyriform
  • lyretail
  • lyrelike
  • lyriferous
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →