lyra

noun

1. (dated)The middle portion of the ventral surface of the fornix of the brain.

   “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.”

   “The Cretan lyra is considered to be the most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra, an ancestor of most European bowed instruments.”

   “The direct ancestor of all European bowed instruments is the Arabic rebab which developed into the Byzantine lyra by the ninth century and later the European rebec.”

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.”

   “Immediately after the ceremony, the wedding procession, accompanied by the lyra, lute (laouto) and songs, returns to the groom’s house[…]”

   “In Crete, the lyra continues to be practiced.”

   “Faithfully following the authentic local tradition, most lyras are entirely handmade.”

name

1. A summer constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a lyre. It includes the bright star Vega and the Ring Nebula.
2. (rare)A female given name from Ancient Greek.

   “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.”