Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

harp seal

/ˈhɑɹp.siːl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.35 in modern English

Syllables: harp seal
IPA: /ˈhɑɹp.siːl/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One of species Pagophilus groenlandicus, a true seal (or earless seal) found in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean.

Example Sentences

"Some people say that harp seals eat too many cod, but humans are the ones who collapsed the Atlantic cod fishery to begin with."

Etymology

From harp + seal. So called because it has black harp- or wishbone-shaped markings on its back.

Inflected Forms

harp seals (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

common seal harbor seal harbour seal Baikal seal bearded seal grey seal hooded seal ribbon seal

Synonyms

saddleback seal Phoca groenlandica pagophilus groenlandicus

Questions

How do you pronounce harp seal?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɑɹp.siːl/.
What does harp seal mean?: One of species Pagophilus groenlandicus, a true seal (or earless seal) found in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Where does harp seal come from?: From harp + seal. So called because it has black harp- or wishbone-shaped markings on its back.

How to pronounce harp seal

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “harp seal”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɑɹp.siːl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “harp seal”.
Repeat and practice — Say “harp seal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.