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harp

Pronunciation: /hɑːp/

The English word “harp” has 10 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A musical instrument consisting of a body and a curved neck, strung with strings of varying length that are stroked or plucked with the fingers and are vertical to the soundboard when viewed from the end of the body
  2. Any instrument of the same musicological type.
  3. A harmonica.
  4. A struck tuned percussion instrument of metal or wooden bars, especially as a function of a theatre organ.
  5. A grain sieve.
  6. The component of a lamp to which one attaches the lampshade, consisting of a lightweight frame that usually surrounds the bulb with an attachment at the top for the finial.

verb

  1. To repeatedly mention a subject, especially so as to nag or complain.
  2. To play on (a harp or similar instrument).
  3. To play (a tune) on the harp.
  4. To develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from a harp; to hit upon.

Etymology

From Middle English harpe, from Old English hearpe (“harp”), from Proto-West Germanic *harpā, from Proto-Germanic *harpǭ (“harp”). Cognate with Scots hairp (“harp”), West Frisian harpe, harp (“harp”), Low German Harp (“harp”), Dutch harp (“harp”), German Harfe (“harp”), Danish harpe (“harp”), Swedish harpa (“harp”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.