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

However, DHS has not had a permanent deputy secretary in place since the spring, when Jane Holl Lute resigned.

From The Daily Beast

Carper described Allen as a “very fine person” and said either Lute or Allen would be fine.

From The Daily Beast

While several names have been floated for her replacement, on Capitol Hill, Lute and Allen have the most senior level support.

From The Daily Beast

Carper said Lute would get through the Senate quickly and easily.

From The Daily Beast

“I think Jane Holl Lute would be a terrific candidate, and I urge the president to consider her,” Carper said.

From The Daily Beast

That done I went over the water and walked over the fields to Southwark, and so home and to my lute.

From Project Gutenberg

Here every breath was eloquence, every word a poem, and the voice of Mary sweeter than Musa's lute.

From Project Gutenberg

Up by five o'clock, and while my man Will was getting himself ready to come up to me I took and played upon my lute a little.

From Project Gutenberg

Parson Lute softly entered from the kitchen, wiping the rain from his face and hands, stepping on tiptoe over the bare floor.

From Project Gutenberg

And I said: What do I care for a kingdom in comparison with my lute?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand