the feminine form is pronounced or . it might be a feminine form of the name kiran, pronounced . kiran is of hindi and sanskrit origin, meaning "beam of light". in ancient hebrew "keren" means both "a horn" and "a beam of light". besides sanskrit and hebrew there might be other etymologies from egyptian, where the word ki-ra means "like ra", or persian. due to the greek interpretation of the persian king's name kourosh (کوروش, "kūrosh") as κύρος ("kýros") – which was obviously modeled after the greek word κύριος ("kýrios" "lord"), the feminine form being κυρία ("kyría") – kyra (or kira) can also be understood as a variant. therefore, it is also in use as a feminine form of the greek diminutive form cyril.