lute

¹

[ loot ]

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument having a long, fretted neck and a hollow, typically pear-shaped body with a vaulted back.

verb (used without object)

, lut·ed, lut·ing.

1. to play a lute.

verb (used with object)

, lut·ed, lut·ing.

1. to perform (music) on a lute:

   a musician skilled at luting Elizabethan ballads.

2. to express (a feeling, mood, etc.) by means of a lute:

   The minstrel eloquently luted his melancholy.

lute

²

[ loot ]

noun

1. luting.

verb (used with object)

, lut·ed, lut·ing.

1. to seal or cement with luting.

lute

³

[ loot ]

noun

1. a paving tool for spreading and smoothing concrete, consisting of a straightedge mounted transversely on a long handle.

verb (used with object)

, lut·ed, lut·ing.

1. to spread and smooth (concrete in a pavement) with a lute.

lute

¹

/ luːt /

noun

1. an ancient plucked stringed instrument, consisting of a long fingerboard with frets and gut strings, and a body shaped like a sliced pear

lute

²

/ luːt /

noun

1. Also calledluting a mixture of cement and clay used to seal the joints between pipes, etc
2. dentistry a thin layer of cement used to fix a crown or inlay in place on a tooth

verb

1. tr to seal (a joint or surface) with lute

Word History and Origins

Origin of lute¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English lut(e), luet, luit, from Middle French, Old French leut, lut, from Old Provençal laut, from Arabic al ʿūd oud ( def )

Origin of lute²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old French lut and Medieval Latin lutum, “mud, dirt, clay; clay for modeling”

Origin of lute³

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; from Dutch loet

Word History and Origins

Origin of lute¹

C14: from Old French lut, via Old Provençal from Arabic al `ūd, literally: the wood

Origin of lute²

C14: via Old French ultimately from Latin lutum clay

Example Sentences

A Dutch guide to marine life from the late 1500s claims that some whale species “like to hear music played on the lute, harp, flute and similar instruments.”

From Salon

“America’s commitment to its allies is not altruism or charity, but serves a vital national interest,” Mr. Lute said.

From New York Times

Some of the numbers that will be featured in a concert on Friday at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side are exquisite settings for voice and lute by composers like Robert Johnson and Thomas Morley.

From New York Times

Think of the mischievous grin of his jolly jester in “The Lute Player.”

From New York Times

Jein even had the Vulcan lute played by Leonard Nimoy’s “Mr. Spock.”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand