• (British) IPA: /hɑːp/
• (America) IPA: /hɑɹp/

harp (plural harps)

1. (musical instrument) A musical instrument consisting of a body and a curved neck, strung with strings of varying length that are stroked or plucked with the fingers and are vertical to the soundboard when viewed from the end of the body
   1. Any instrument of the same musicological type.
2. (colloquial) A harmonica.
3. (Scotland) A grain sieve.

• harp seal

• French: harpe
• German: Harfe
• Italian: arpa
• Portuguese: harpa
• Russian: а́рфа
• Spanish: arpa, harpa

harp (harps, present participle harping; past and past participle harped)

1. (usually with on) To repeatedly mention a subject.

   Why do you harp on a single small mistake? (US)

   Why do you harp on about a single small mistake? (UK)

2. (transitive) To play on (a harp or similar instrument)
3. (transitive) To play (a tune) on the harp.
4. (transitive, archaic) To develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from a harp; to hit upon.

   • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene iv]:

     Thou harped my fear aright.

• keep on about
• perseverate

• German: auf (etwas) herumreiten

1. Surname for a player of the harp.