lute
lute Lexical Profile
lute Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A plucked stringed instrument with a long, fretted neck and a hollow, pear-shaped body with a vaulted back, widely played in Europe from the late Middle Ages to the 18th century.
"The court musician gently plucked the strings of his lute to accompany the singer's ballad."
A thick, sticky clay or cement used to seal joints or connections in pipes, vessels, and furnaces to make them airtight or watertight.
"The alchemist applied a thick layer of lute to the glass retort to ensure no vapors could escape during the distillation process."
• verb
To seal, coat, or pack a joint, vessel, or furnace with lute to prevent the escape of gas or liquid.
"The technician carefully luted the crucible before placing it in the high-temperature kiln."
To play the lute, or to perform a song accompanied by a lute.
"He spent the afternoon luting in the garden, practicing complex melodies from the Renaissance."
Word Nuance & Usage
Lute is a homophone of 'loot' (stolen goods or treasure), which can occasionally cause confusion in spoken English despite their entirely distinct meanings and origins.
• Rhymes for lute
Word Origin & Etymology
The word has two distinct origins. The musical instrument derives from Old French 'lut', tracing back to the Arabic 'al-ʿūd' (meaning 'the wood'). The sealant or clay meaning comes from the Latin 'lutum' (meaning 'mud' or 'clay').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.