lute1
[loot]
- a stringed musical instrument having a long, fretted neck and a hollow, typically pear-shaped body with a vaulted back.
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- to play a lute.
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- to perform (music) on a lute: a musician skilled at luting Elizabethan ballads.
- to express (a feeling, mood, etc.) by means of a lute: The minstrel eloquently luted his melancholy.
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Origin of lute1
1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, Old French < Old Provençal laut < Arabic al ʿūd literally, the wood
lute2
[loot]
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- to seal or cement with luting.
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Origin of lute2
1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin lutum, special use of Latin lutum mud, clay
lute3
[loot]
- a paving tool for spreading and smoothing concrete, consisting of a straightedge mounted transversely on a long handle.
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- to spread and smooth (concrete in a pavement) with a lute.
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Origin of lute3
1870–75, Americanism; < Dutch loet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lute
Contemporary Examples
Carper described Allen as a “very fine person” and said either Lute or Allen would be fine.
While several names have been floated for her replacement, on Capitol Hill, Lute and Allen have the most senior level support.
Carper said Lute would get through the Senate quickly and easily.
Obama disliked him and sidelined him, while Lute and Jim Jones tried to get him fired.
Holbrooke looked down on Lute, ignored his requests, and made him and his National Security Council staff revise many memos.
Historical Examples
The boy went off, and the youth took a lute from an embroidered case.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
He scorned the new invention but warmly upheld the lute and viol.
How the Piano Came to BeEllye Howell Glover
It had eight stops, one imitating the lute and one the flute.
How the Piano Came to BeEllye Howell Glover
We are told that Khalid took up his lute but once throughout the voyage.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
Lute Rogers, stop pawin' yourself over and act sensible, if you can.
The Rise of Roscoe PaineJoseph C. Lincoln
lute1
- an ancient plucked stringed instrument, consisting of a long fingerboard with frets and gut strings, and a body shaped like a sliced pear
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French lut, via Old Provençal from Arabic al `ūd, literally: the wood
lute2
- Also called: luting a mixture of cement and clay used to seal the joints between pipes, etc
- dentistry a thin layer of cement used to fix a crown or inlay in place on a tooth
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- (tr) to seal (a joint or surface) with lute
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Word Origin
C14: via Old French ultimately from Latin lutum clay
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lute
n.
stringed musical instrument, late 13c., from Old French lut, leut, from Old Provençal laut, from Arabic al-'ud, the Arabian lute, literally "the wood" (source of Spanish laud, Portuguese alaude, Italian liuto), where al is the definite article. A player is a lutist (1620s) or a lutanist (c.1600, from Medieval Latin hybrid lutanista).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper