harper
noun
a person who plays the harp.
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harper
1 American
[hahr-per]
/ ˈhɑr pər /
Harper
2
American
[hahr-per]
/ ˈhɑr pər /
noun
-
James, 1795–1869, and his brothers John, 1797–1875, (Joseph) Wesley, 1801–70, and Fletcher, 1806–77, U.S. printers and publishers.
-
a male or female given name.
Harper
British
/ ˈhɑːpə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of harper
before 900; Middle English; Old English hearpere. See harp, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When they became international stars in the 1970s, the group hired a harper named Derek Bell to play the old O’Carolan tunes, which as a result became part of every Irish band’s repertoire.
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2016
Mead has been spilled on the oak and the king's strong-thewed companions, none over 30, sprawl, snore or listen intently to the end of a long-drawn saga sung by Maccus, the harper.
From Time Magazine Archive
The former harper crept out into the darkness, unnoticed by the rest.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Meanwhile the harper in the great room sang a song.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
I could no longer pay the cook and the harper, and Lynesse grew wild when I spoke of pawning her jewels.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Praying for a rain delay, I found myself innings deep into “Team Moms: Baseball” before realizing that, like Bryce Harper looking at a ghost fork, I’d fallen victim to my own myopia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
He didn’t want to move Schwarber or Harper, nor did he want three consecutive lefties at the top.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The copy of Harper Lee's seminal 1960 work was discovered in a box of American books given to the charity's bookshop in Portobello Road, west London.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Tullis Matson is among a cohort of seven people to be given the award by Shropshire's Harper Adams University as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“And I think Harper of Slytherin’s seen the Snitch!” said Zacharias Smith through his megaphone.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
When gloved harpers set those overhead strings vibrating, the Kennedy Center architecture will be reflected in the tone.
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2016
"Your father—" "—will thank me, when I hand him his kingdom. I mean to do a deed that the harpers will sing of for a thousand years."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Some of the most beautiful of the antique Irish folk-melodies,—e.g., the Coulin—are traditionally supposed to have been overheard by mortal harpers at the revels of the Fairy Folk.
From Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race by T. W. (Thomas William) Rolleston
Then they sat down to supper; and while they ate and drank, the harpers played for them, and the poets told their tales and sang their songs.
From Old Celtic Romances by Unknown
At first it was a summer boothie or hunting lodge to Welsh chieftains, but subsequently expanded into the roomy, comfortable dwelling of Welsh squires, where hospitality was much practised and bards and harpers liberally encouraged.
From Wild Wales The People, Laguage & Scenery by George Henry Borrow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
