Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

Lydian

[lid-ee-uh n]
See more synonyms for Lydian on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to Lydia.
  2. (of music) softly or sensuously sweet; voluptuous.
Show More
noun
  1. an inhabitant of Lydia.
  2. an Anatolian language of Lydia, written in a modified Greek alphabet.
Show More

Origin of Lydian

First recorded in 1535–45; Lydi(a) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lydian

Historical Examples

  • The Ionian, he replied, and the Lydian; they are termed 'relaxed.'

    The Republic

    Plato

  • The harmonies which you mean are the mixed or tenor Lydian, and the full-toned or bass Lydian, and such like.

  • The pride of the Hellene is further humbled, by being compared to a Phrygian or Lydian.

  • The Dorian measure was grave and severe, the Lydian soft and effeminate.

  • At the age of thirty-five Croesus ascended the Lydian throne.

British Dictionary definitions for lydian

Lydian

adjective
  1. of or relating to ancient Lydia, its inhabitants, or their language
  2. music of or relating to an authentic mode represented by the ascending natural diatonic scale from F to FSee also Hypo- Compare Hypolydian
Show More
noun
  1. an inhabitant of Lydia
  2. the extinct language of the Lydians, thought to belong to the Anatolian group or family
Show More
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