Etymology

harpsichord

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Today it means: A stringed musical instrument with a keyboard, the mechanical precursor to the fortepiano, in which each key causes a plectrum to pluck a corresponding tuned string, producing a bright, sharp tone similar to that of a harp. Full definition →

French harpechord ← Italian arpicordo
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The story

  1. Italian · borrowed fromarpicordo
  2. French · borrowed fromharpechord“harp string”
  3. English todayharpsichord

Early 1600s, borrowed from French harpechord (“harp string”), from New Latin harpichordium, from harpa (“harp”) + chorda (“string”). Influenced by and possibly also borrowed from Italian arpicordo, producing variant spellings. The unetymological -s-, which predominates by the 1660s, is of unclear origin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.