harmonica
Meanings
Plural: harmonicas
Noun
- 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 wind instrument with a series of holes for the player to blow into, each hole producing a different note.
- A musical instrument, consisting of a series of hemispherical glasses which, by touching the edges with the dampened finger, give forth the tones.
- A toy instrument of strips of glass or metal hung on two tapes, and struck with hammers.
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
French harp, gob iron, harmonicon, harp, Mississippi sax, mouth harp, mouth organ, tin sandwich
Scrabble Score: 16
harmonica is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordharmonica is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
harmonica is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary