jaw 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.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounjaw harp (plural jaw harps)

plural jaw harps · alternative jaw's harp · alternative jaws harp · alternative jaws' harp · alternative Jaws'-harp · alternative jaws-harp · alternative Jaws-harp · alternative Jaw's harp

  1. alternativeAlternative form of Jew's harp.

Origin

Unclear; it either comes from, or is the origin of, Jew's harp. It probably does not come from the common English word jaw. See Jew's harp for more.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

jaw harp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaw%20harp

MLA

“jaw harp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaw%20harp. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jaw harp,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaw%20harp.

Source: jaw harp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.