Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to Lydia or its people, language, or culture.
  • noun A native or inhabitant of Lydia.
  • noun A language of the extinct Anatolian branch of Indo-European, found in inscriptions of the fourth century BC in western Turkey.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to Lydia, an ancient country of Asia Minor, bordering on the Ægean sea, or to its inhabitants: as, the Lydian empire (including under Crœsus, its last king, famous for his wealth, a large part of Asia Minor); Lydian coins; Lydian luxury.
  • noun An inhabitant of ancient Lydia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to Lydia, a country of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants; hence, soft; effeminate; -- said especially of one of the ancient Greek modes or keys, the music in which was of a soft, pathetic, or voluptuous character.
  • adjective a flint slate used by the ancients to try gold and silver; a touchstone. See Basanite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A native or inhabitant of ancient Lydia.
  • proper noun An extinct Indo-European language in the Anatolian subgroup.
  • adjective Pertaining to Lydia, or its people, language or culture.
  • adjective music Designating a mode of ancient Greek music, reputed to be light and effeminate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an Anatolian language

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Lydia +‎ -an.

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Examples

  • To instill "civilized habits" Aristotle recommends drawing, which teaches one "to be observant of physical beauty," and music, specifying the even-tempered Dorian mode as the most suitable for the education of youth (Aristotle, Politics, 8.3, 1342a28: Lydian is also recommended).

    Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

  • For the boundary between the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and this flows from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, and afterwards, as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand and the Phrygians on the other side; then passing by these and flowing up towards the

    The History of Herodotus Herodotus 2003

  • Belos, the son of Alcaios, was the first of the Heracleidai who became king of Sardis, and Candaules the son of Myrsos was the last; but those who were kings over this land before Agrond, were descendants of Lydos the son of Atys, whence this whole nation was called Lydian, having been before called Meonian.

    The History of Herodotus Herodotus 2003

  • Alcman, the great lyric poet of Sparta (Lydian by birth), brought the so-called Lydian measure to its highest perfection.

    Woman's Work in Music Arthur Elson

  • Examine the opening phrases of his song, _Harmonie du Soir_ (composed in 1889-1890), and note the felicitous adaptation to modern use of the "authentic" mode known as the Lydian, which corresponds to a C-major scale with F-sharp.

    Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande A Guide to the Opera with Musical Examples from the Score Lawrence Gilman 1908

  • The Tiber is called Lydian from a tradition that the Lydians had colonised

    The Aeneid of Virgil Translated into English Verse by E. Fairfax Taylor 70 BC-19 BC Virgil 1902

  • For just as in different parts of Greece there existed different dances, the steps of which were known as Lydian, Ionian, Locrian, and Dorian feet, and so on, so the melodies to which they were danced were known as being in the

    Critical and Historical Essays Lectures delivered at Columbia University Edward MacDowell 1884

  • For the boundary between the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and this flows from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, and afterwards, as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand and the Phrygians on the other side; then passing by these and flowing up towards the

    The history of Herodotus — Volume 1 480? BC-420? BC Herodotus 1883

  • Heracleidai who became king of Sardis, and Candaules the son of Myrsos was the last; but those who were kings over this land before Agrond, were descendants of Lydos the son of Atys, whence this whole nation was called Lydian, having been before called Meonian.

    The history of Herodotus — Volume 1 480? BC-420? BC Herodotus 1883

  • Some writers tell us that while Pausanias was offering sacrifice and prayer a little beyond the ranks, some Lydians suddenly fell upon him, and began to plunder the sacrificial vessels, but that Pausanias, and those with him, having no arms, drove them away with sticks and whips; in memory of which they beat young men on the altar at Sparta at the present day, and afterwards lead what is called the Lydian procession.

    Plutarch's Lives, Volume II 46-120? Plutarch 1839

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