Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

harmonica

/ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.97 in modern English

Syllables
har-mon-i-ca
IPA
/ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A musical wind instrument with a series of holes for the player to blow into, each hole producing a different note.

noun

A musical instrument, consisting of a series of hemispherical glasses which, by touching the edges with the dampened finger, give forth the tones.

noun

A toy instrument of strips of glass or metal hung on two tapes, and struck with hammers.

Etymology

From armonica. Coined by American polymath and statesman Benjamin Franklin to refer to his glass harmonica, an instrument that predated the small wind instrument by several decades. Doublet of harmonic; compare Latin harmonicus.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/
  • British English: /ˌhɑɹˈmɒ.nɪ.kə/

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Music.

Inflected Forms

harmonicas (plural)

Derived Forms

harmonicaist harmonicist melodica

Phrases

glass harmonica harmonica bug Pandean harmonica

Synonyms

French harp gob iron harmonicon Mississippi sax mouth harp mouth organ tin sandwich harp

Rhymes With

monica veronica donica

Questions

How do you pronounce harmonica?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/.
What does harmonica mean?
A musical wind instrument with a series of holes for the player to blow into, each hole producing a different note.
Where does harmonica come from?
From armonica. Coined by American polymath and statesman Benjamin Franklin to refer to his glass harmonica, an instrument that predated the small wind instrument by several decades. Doublet of harmonic; compare Latin harmonicus.

How to pronounce harmonica

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “harmonica”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌhɑɹˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “harmonica”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “harmonica” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.