harpsichord

[hahrp-si-kawrd]

noun

a keyboard instrument, precursor of the piano, in which the strings are plucked by leather or quill points connected with the keys, in common use from the 16th to the 18th century, and revived in the 20th.

Origin of harpsichord

First recorded in 1605–15, harpsichord is from the New Latin word harpichordium (with intrusive -s- of obscure origin). See harp, -i-, chord¹

Related formsharp·si·chord·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for harpsichord

Contemporary Examples of harpsichord

Sitting up there at that little spindly-legged organ, he looked enormous, bigger than life, like a gorilla at a harpsichord.
The Stacks: Grateful Dead I Have Known
Ed McClanahan
August 30, 2014

Historical Examples of harpsichord

I am very fond of books and music; my harpsichord was my delight.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
There are interesting old books on the virginals, harpsichord, and spinet.
The Book-Hunter at Home
P. B. M. Allan
She moved towards the harpsichord and dropped into the chair that served it.
The Lady of Loyalty House
Justin Huntly McCarthy
Pepusch and Handel played the harpsichord and the organ there.
Sketch of Handel and Beethoven
Thomas Hanly Ball
He plays the Fiddle well, the Harpsichord well, the Violoncello well.
The Violin
George Hart

British Dictionary definitions for harpsichord

harpsichord

noun

a horizontally strung stringed keyboard instrument, triangular in shape, consisting usually of two manuals controlling various sets of strings plucked by pivoted plectrums mounted on jacks. Some harpsichords have a pedal keyboard and stops by which the tone colour may be varied

Derived Formsharpsichordist, noun

Word Origin for harpsichord

C17: from New Latin harpichordium, from Late Latin harpa harp + Latin chorda chord 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for harpsichord

1610s, from French harpechorde "harp string," from Modern Latin harpichordium (cf. Italian arpicordo), from harpa (see harp (n.)) + chorda "string" (see cord). The -s- is unexplained, but it is attested in the earliest English forms.

harpsichord in Culture

harpsichord

A stringed keyboard instrument much used in the baroque era in music. The keys of a harpsichord move small devices that pluck the strings; the strings are not struck with hammers, as in a piano. Thus, although harpsichords often look much like pianos, their characteristic tinkly sound is unlike that of the piano, and a harpsichordist cannot change the volume of the sound by striking the keys harder, as a pianist can.