Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Music A small rectangular instrument consisting of a row of free reeds set back in air holes, played by exhaling or inhaling. Also called mouth harp, mouth organ; also called regionally French harp.
- n. Music A glass harmonica.
- n. Music An instrument consisting of tuned strips of metal or glass fixed to a frame and struck with a hammer.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as musical glasses (which see, under glass).
- n. A musical toy consisting of a set of small metallic reeds so mounted in a case that they may be played by the breath, certain tones being produced by expiration, others by inhalation. Also called harmonicon.
- n. In organ-building, a mixturestop.
Wiktionary
- n. a musical wind instrument with a series of holes for the player to blow into, each hole producing a different note
- n. a musical instrument, consisting of a series of hemispherical glasses which, by touching the edges with the dampened finger, give forth the tones.
- n. a toy instrument of strips of glass or metal hung on two tapes, and struck with hammers.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A musical instrument, consisting of a series of hemispherical glasses which, by touching the edges with the dampened finger, give forth the tones; it is now called the
glass harmonica , to distinguish it from the common harmonica, formerly called the harmonicon. - n. A toy instrument of strips of glass or metal hung on two tapes, and struck with hammers.
- n. A small wind musical instrument shaped like a flat bar with holes along the thin edges, held in the hand and producing notes from multiple vibrating reeds arranged inside along its length; it was formerly called the
harmonicon . See harmonicon.
WordNet 3.0
- 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
Etymologies
- Alteration of obsolete armonica, glass harmonica, from Italian, feminine of armonico, harmonious, from Latin harmonicus, harmonic; see harmonic. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Clutch played beefy, beery blues-rock, with vintage guitar riffs and growly vocals upholstered in harmonica and organ.”
Bonnaroo: Beery Blues-rock and Jazz Anarchy - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com
“With its compact design, the rugged, industry standard IP 20 model is also compatible for mating with multiport 'harmonica'-style RJ 45 jacks.”
“But Andrew had never thought the harmonica was a toy.”
“The harmonica is a staple of American blues, beginning with the Memphis jug bands of the 1920s.”
“The personnel shifted but over the years included some of the finest names in jazz including Cal Tjader and Gary Burton on vibes and Joe Pass and Toots Thielemans on guitar though Thielemans was better known as a harmonica player.”
“MUSIC 101 It has been said "a harmonica is the world's greatest musical instrument.”
“He calls harmonica player Frédéric Yonnet up to blow through the Rolling Stones '"Miss You," following a tough, sexy groove as Prince announces: "Come on out on the dancefloor, come on!”
“Dylan, a longtime Hohner player, will receive a royalty on the sale of the harmonica, which is expected to sell around 10,000 units this year.”
“When McCarthyism was at its peak, Hefner booked blacklisted performers such as harmonica virtuoso Larry Addler and singer Josh White.”
“Just because the harmonica is a small instrument frequently heard in folk and pop music doesn’t mean it shouldn’t appear on the orchestral stage, and harmonica player Robert Bonfiglio, the guest artist for Tuesday’s Waco Symphony Orchestra concert, is quick to make his case.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘harmonica’.
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• Wordies talk about themselves
Sometimes users are also persons.
llogos, peter stickles, old age, 39, insomnia, frown of approval, chuck norris, ovular, gay, fencing, rabbits, seven empty cups ... and 137 more...
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Bob Dylan, Revisited
Per bilby's request for a list with "Memorable lyrics snippets, bio trivia, landmarks, etc."
Highway 61, Desolation Row, the tombstone blues, going electric, Maggie's farm, Robert Allen Zimm..., Hibbing, MN, Duluth, MN, The Times They Ar..., Blonde on Blonde, Mike Bloomfield, Joan Baez and 159 more...
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Organ Stops
A list of pipe- and pedal-organ stops. These have variously and perhaps at times capriciously been named and labelled by organ builders in Latin, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, a...
diapason, double open diapason, sub-bourdon, double dulciana, bourdon, contra gamba, pyramidon, open diapason, stopped diapason, dulcis, dulciana, viol-di-gamba and 244 more...
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Playthings and Toys
have fun!
battledore, beanbag, bicycle, Big Wheel, crayons, boomerang, cap gun, doll, kite, jigsaw puzzle, hula hoop, jack-in-the-box and 66 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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Chainlink's Words
hat, opalescent, opal, emerald, sapphire, scythe, carnival, calliope, brilliant, awesome, feather, fantastic and 268 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, H
hurlyburly, hurtle, hodgepodge, heartwood, hatch, halo, hooptedoodle, hacienda, hairpin, heyday, hardscrabble, hopper and 208 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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Non-vital organs
concertina, pipe organ, calliope, harmonium, accordion, reed organ, melodicon, hydraulicon, euphoniad, orchestrion, barrel organ, wurlitzer and 31 more...
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Abbie's Words
salamander, victorian, pudgy, hippopotamus, fixin', pithy, decadent, scribble, hoi polloi, consternation, assiduously, engrossing and 26 more...
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music
octave, lyric, opera, flute, maracas, gong, tambourine, bass, trumpet, balalaika, lyre, bongos and 36 more...
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Musical Instruments
Collect them all!
dulcimer, french horn, didgeridoo, zither, tympani, djembe, xylophone, vibraphone, singing bowl, bagpipes, banjo, guitar and 66 more...
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Little Miss Different
A list of words that sound like girls' names. Inspired by a character named Anathema Device, who appears in one of my favorite books, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
conifer, bactine, anaesthesia, agora, careen, dilemma, helvetica, oubliette, rubella, homily, antarctica, analemma and 30 more...
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My Favorite Instruments
I love their sounds as well as their names!
guitar, piano, harpsichord, grand harp, lute, hammered dulcimer, flute, violin, oboe, clarinet, cittern, dobro and 33 more...
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Musical words
tune, melody, resonance, quaver, hemidemisemiquaver, echo, whisper, harmonious, symphonious, tone, euphonious, mellifluous and 12 more...
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marmalade's Words
coo, audible, escalator, mezzanine, calcification, aileron, tatter, harmonica, gritty, champagne, cigarette, ornithologist and 2 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for harmonica.

oroboros Wound Lewinsky? Oct 12, 2009
gangerh Enough applause from frogs? Sep 18, 2008
bilby Cucumber sandwich parties. Sep 18, 2008
frogapplause I like to pretend. What else don't bilbies have that I can have fun pretending about? :-) Sep 18, 2008
bilby *pretends bilbies have eyebrows, and raises one* Sep 17, 2008
chained_bear Well, okay. I threatened to. Sep 17, 2008
reesetee Gangerh, I suspect she's not kidding. ;-> Sep 17, 2008
gangerh HAHAHA, c_b! I love that comment. Sep 17, 2008
chained_bear I applaud yarb's parenting strategy. I regularly rented my spawn out to the circus from the age of six. Sep 17, 2008
yarb Plus, it's easy to learn the basics. I mean you can be playing like Bob Dylan in literally five minutes! Sep 17, 2008
whichbe A harmonica is a really good first instrument because it's possible to make so many cool, crazy sounds so easily. I had one when I was about 6 and I remember giggling because I would breathe in-out through it, thus making my breath musically filtered. Sep 17, 2008
yarb It's going to be a third birthday present.
When she reaches the age of six she will be turned out of the home to make her way on the blues club circuit.
I love the idea of a toddler-sized grand piano! A baby-baby-grand. Sep 17, 2008
whichbe Aw! How old is she? My partner has a 3 year old (thus making me fatheresque) and she has this little pink, plastic, toddler-sized grand piano that she loves... Sep 17, 2008
yarb I just bought my daughter her first harmonica. Sep 17, 2008
reesetee So tell us, WeirdNet: Are the reeds free? Jul 3, 2008