from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Music An instrument having an upright triangular frame consisting of a pillar, a curved neck, and a hollow back containing the sounding board, with usually 46 or 47 strings of graded lengths that are played by plucking with the fingers.
- n. Music Any of various ancient and modern instruments of similar construction.
- n. Informal Music A harmonica.
- n. Something, such as a pair of vertical supports for a lampshade, that resembles a harp.
- intransitive v. To play a harp.
- harp on To talk or write about to an excessive and tedious degree; dwell on.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A musical instrument consisting of an upright frame strung with strings that are stroked or plucked with the fingers.
- n. A harmonica.
- v. To repeatedly mention a subject.
- v. To play on (a harp or similar instrument).
- v. To play (a tune) on the harp.
- v. To develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from a harp; to hit upon.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A musical instrument consisting of a triangular frame furnished with strings and sometimes with pedals, held upright, and played with the fingers.
- n. A constellation; Lyra, or the Lyre.
- n. A grain sieve.
- intransitive v. To play on the harp.
- intransitive v. To dwell on or recur to a subject tediously or monotonously in speaking or in writing; to refer to something repeatedly or continually; -- usually with on or upon.
- transitive v. To play on, as a harp; 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.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A musical instrument with strings which are played by being plucked with the fingers.
- n. [capitalized] A constellation, otherwise called Lyra or the Lyre.
- n. Same as harper, 2.
- n. An oblong implement, consisting of a frame filled up with parallel wires resembling the strings of a harp, used as a screen; a grain-sieve.
- n. A sparred shovel for filling coal.
- n. In a seutching-machine, a grating through which the refuse falls as the revolving beater drives the fibers forward.
- n. A figure, likened to a harp or saddle, on the back of the adult harp-seal.
- n. Hence The harp-seal, or harper.
- To play on the harp; play as on a harp.
- To speak often of something, especially so often as to be tiresome or vexing; speak with reiteration; especially, to speak or write with monotonous repetition: usually with on or upon.
- To give forth as a harp gives forth sound; give expression to, or utter.
- To produce some specified effect upon by playing on the harp.
- To sift or separate by means of a harp or screen: as, to harp grain; to harp sand. See harp, n., 4 and 5.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. 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
- v. come back to
- n. a pair of curved vertical supports for a lampshade
- v. play the harp
- n. 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
So, perhaps a harp is the best instrument for a bone musician.
Do you have any idea how complicated the harp is to play?
The harp is like the unicorn of musical instruments.
I think the harp is totally awesome, and Harpo was my favorite Marx brother by far, and Christmas is about the only time of year I'll let my guard down to admit any of this in public, and by the way shut up.
The harp is a lovely instrument to look at as well as to listen to.
I like your choice of picture .... though uncomfortable, a "living harp" is always a beautiful picture.
Long-time harper Cheryl and the back part of her O'Loughlin harp:
One suspects that this unique globetrotter with his harp is closely related to the author himself, who has given him many ideas about life and death, and about the close relation between the present and eternity - the precious fruits of experiences gathered from the lands and seas of the globe.
The harp is the instrument of "the intimate life of the individual."
Swallowing resentment all night had made his voice husky; and it was bitter indeed to sit still and hear himself called a harp and a mick.