Aeolian harp

An instrument consisting of an open box over which are stretched strings that sound when the wind passes over them. Also called wind harp.

[From Aeolian, relating to Aeolus, god of the winds.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

aeolian harp

(Instruments) a stringed instrument that produces a musical sound when a current of air or wind passes over the strings. Also called: wind harp

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

aeo′lian harp′

a box with an opening across which are stretched a number of strings of equal length that are tuned in unison and sounded by the wind.

[1785–95]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

aeolian harp - a harp having strings tuned in unison; they sound when wind passes over them

aeolian lyre, wind harp

harp - a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers

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References in classic literature

"My name is Manicamp," replied the young man, in a voice whose tones were as harmonious and sweet as the notes of an AEolian harp.

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It was like the voice of a soul that had once lived in an AEolian harp. This must be one of Nature's inconsistencies.

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He hears the echoes of a horn in a hill country, in the Notch Mountains, for example, which converts the mountains into an Aeolian harp,--and this supernatural tiralira restores to him the Dorian mythology, Apollo, Diana, and all divine hunters and huntresses.

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It is as though the Aeolian harps had caught some strayed wind from an unknown world, and brought strange messages from peopled stars.

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A strange roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks and the wind made in their branches the music of AEolian harps. He had not wish to perfect his escape -- he was content to remain in that enchanting spot until retaken.

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There's a small museum, where my favourite treasure is an aeolian harp, an instrument designed to sing when the wind whistles through it, although you don't get to hear it indoors!

A walk on the wet and wild side... HANNAH MIRSKY avoids climbing every mountain on a wet and windy break in Ambleside away

There's a legend of a German baron who at his castle on the Rhine, stretched wires from tower to tower, so that the winds would convert them into an Aeolian harp. Soft breeze played about the castle but no music came out.

Music in a storm..!

The original version had an Aeolian harp (an ancient harp played by the wind) which was recorded on top of Glastonbury Tor.

Composer's immersing himself in Cafe society; Life's never dull for Arthur Jeffes, founder of jazz group Penguine Cafe, who will be playing pieces from the group's new album at Warwick Arts Centre. DAVE FREAK reports

Aeolian Harp, historic work redesigned for site, 2013

Exploratorium[R]