harp
Plural: harps
Noun
- a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers
- a pair of curved vertical supports for a lampshade
- a small rectangular free-reed instrument having a row of free reeds set back in air holes and played by blowing into the desired hole
- 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
- 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
- Any instrument of the same musicological type.
- Any musical instrument.
- A harmonica.
- Any musical instrument.
- A struck tuned percussion instrument of metal or wooden bars, especially as a function of a theatre organ.
- A grain sieve.
- 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.
- Ellipsis of harp seal.
Verb
Verb Forms: harped, harping, harps
- To play a harp; to dwell on a subject tiresomely.
- come back to
- "She is always harping on the same old things"
- play the harp
- "She harped the Saint-Saens beautifully"
- To repeatedly mention a subject, especially so as to nag or complain.
- To play on (a harp or similar instrument).
- To play (a tune) on the harp.
- To develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from a harp; to hit upon.
Examples
- He continued to harp on about his last bad tile draw, much to his opponent’s annoyance.
- Why do you harp on a single small mistake?
- Why do you harp on about a single small mistake?
Origin / 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”).
Synonyms
dwell, harmonica, mouth harp, mouth organ, glee-beam, keep on about, perseverate
Scrabble Score: 9
harp: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordharp: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
harp: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary