English → Latin
“lyre” in Latin
citharizōto play the citharacitharistacithara playercitharoedussinger who accompanies himself on the citharacitharistriaa female player on the cithara
The English word lyre itself goes back to Latin lyra.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
lyre
cithara. To play on the lyre, citharizare (Nep., Epam., 2, 1); cithara canere: to accompany the lyre with a song, carmen formare cithara (Vid: Gierig, Plin., Ep., 4, 19, 1): music of the lyre, chordarum sonus (the sound); ars citharoedica (the art): to sing to the lyre, citharizare et. ad chordarum sonum cantare (Nep., Epam., 2, 1): a player on the lyre, citharista; citharoedus (if he accompany the instrument with his voice); feminine, citharistria; citharoeda (Inscript.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for lyre?
- The usual Latin words for “lyre” are citharizō, citharista, citharoedus; also citharistria. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.