Lute | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Lūte, n.

noun

n. [O. D. & M. H. Ger. lūte, Sw. luta, Dan. lut, N. D. luit, N. H. Ger. laute, O. Fr. leut, N. Fr. luth, Pr. laut, lahut, It. liūto, leito, liúdo, Sp. laud, Pg. alaude, from Ar. al’ūd, i. e., ’ūd, with the art. al prefixed, wood, timber, trunk or branch of a tree, staff, stick, wood of aloes, lute or harp.] (Mus.) A stringed instrument formerly much in use. It consists of four parts, namely, the table or front, the body, having nine or ten ribs or sides, arranged like the divisions of a melon, the neck, which has nine or ten stops or divisions, and the head, or cross, in which the screws for tuning are inserted. The strings are struck with the right hand, and with the left the stops are pressed.

A drawing of a lute, with a rounded body, strings, and a long neck. — Lute.

Lūte, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. To play on a lute, or as on a lute.

*Knaves are men That lute and flute fantastic tenderness. Tennyson.*

Lūte, n.

noun

n. [Lat. lutum, mud, clay.] (Chem.) A composition of clay or other tenacious substance, used for stopping the juncture of vessels so closely as to prevent the escape or entrance of air, or to protect them when exposed to heat; — called also luting.

Lūte, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. LUTED; p. pr. & vb. n. LUTING.] To close or coat with lute.