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.
© Webster 1913.