lyric

A2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈlɪrɪk/ UK /ˈlɪɹɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #18637

Meanings

1

noun
The words of a song.

The lyric in the third line doesn't quite rhyme.
2

noun
A short poem that expresses personal feelings, often like a song.

She published a small collection of lyrics about love and loss.
3

adj
Expressing strong personal emotion, especially in poetry or music.

He admired the lyric beauty of her early poems.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the words of a song. words

2 noun · a short poem that expresses... lyric poem

3 adj · expressing strong personal... lyrical

Word family

Derived forms lyrical lyricallylyricismlyricistlyricizationlyricizelyriclesslyricologistlyricologynonlyric

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

lyric poem
a short poem expressing personal feeling with a songlike quality

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From French lyrique, or its source, Latin lyricus, from Ancient Greek λυρικός (lurikós), from λύρα (lúra, “lyre”). Its English equivalent would be lyre + -ic. The original Greek sense of "lyric poetry"—"poetry accompanied by the lyre" i.e. "words set to music"—eventually led to its use as "lyrics", first attested in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Stainer and Barrett used the word as a singular substantive: "Lyric, poetry or blank verse intended to be set to music and sung". By the 1930s, the present use of the plurale tantum "lyrics" had begun; it has been standard sin…

lyrique French lyricus Latin λυρικός Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# lyric

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈlɪrɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlɪɹɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 18637

## Meanings
1. The words of a song.
2. A short poem that expresses personal feelings, often like a song.
3. Expressing strong personal emotion, especially in poetry or music.

## Examples
- The lyric in the third line doesn't quite rhyme.
- She published a small collection of lyrics about love and loss.
- He admired the lyric beauty of her early poems.

## Derived Forms
- lyrical
- lyrically
- lyricism
- lyricist
- lyricization
- lyricize
- lyricless
- lyricologist
- lyricology
- nonlyric

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lyrique
- Root: lyricus
- Root: λυρικός

## Etymology
From French lyrique, or its source, Latin lyricus, from Ancient Greek λυρικός (lurikós), from λύρα (lúra, “lyre”). Its English equivalent would be lyre + -ic. The original Greek sense of "lyric poetry"—"poetry accompanied by the lyre" i.e. "words set to music"—eventually led to its use as "lyrics", first attested in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Stainer and Barrett used the word as a singular substantive: "Lyric, poetry or blank verse intended to be set to music and sung". By the 1930s, the present use of the plurale tantum "lyrics" had begun; it has been standard sin…

## AI Etymology
Lyric comes from French lyrique, or its source, Latin lyricus, from Ancient Greek λυρικός (lurikós), from λύρα (lúra, “lyre”). Its English equivalent would be lyre + -ic. The original Greek sense of "lyric poetry"—"poetry accompanied by the lyre" i.e. In present-day English its meanings include the words of a song, a short poem that expresses personal feelings, often like a song, and expressing strong personal emotion, especially in poetry or music. The historical chain runs through lyrique (French), lyricus (Latin), and λυρικός (Ancient Greek). Related and derived forms include lyrical, lyrically, and lyricism.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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