Dictionary entry

Lydian

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Lyd″i‐an (?), a. [L. Lydius, fr. Lydia, Gr. �.] 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.

Softly sweet in Lydian measures,

Soon he soothed his soul to pleasures. Dryden.

Lydian stone, a flint slate used by the ancients to try gold and silver; a touchstone. See Basanite.