jew's-harp

A form of jew's harp — A musical instrument consisting of a thin flexible reed mounted in a stiff crescent frame. The narrow end of the frame is held between the teeth and the reed is plucked to produce a note of constant pitch. Melodies and overtones are created by changing the shape of the oral cavity.

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Meanings

jew's-harp1

nounjew's-harp (plural jew's-harps)

plural jew's-harps

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of Jew's harp.

    “Because I recognized their sentinel when I glanced out of my window. He is a harmless enough fellow, Parker by name, a garroter by trade, and a remarkable performer upon the jew’s-harp.

    1903 September 26, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Empty House”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC

Jew's-harp2

nounJew's-harp (plural Jew's-harps)

plural Jew's-harps

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of Jew's harp.

    The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."

    1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character, Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 70
Cite this entry
APA

jew's-harp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jew's-harp

MLA

“jew's-harp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jew's-harp. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jew's-harp,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jew's-harp.

Source: jew's-harp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.