Link Centre Dictionary

harmonica

har·mo·nica

UK/ˌhɑɹˈmɒ.nɪ.kə/ US/ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/ uncommon

noun

1.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From armonica. Coined by American polymath and statesman Benjamin Franklin to refer to his glass harmonica, an instrument that predated the small wind instrument by several decades. Doublet of harmonic; compare Latin harmonicus.

Phrases

  • glass harmonica
  • harmonica bug
  • Pandean harmonica

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.