aeolian harp

noun

: a box-shaped musical instrument having stretched strings usually tuned in unison on which the wind produces varying harmonics over the same fundamental tone

Did you know?

Aeolian Harp Has Roots in Greek Myth

According to the ancient Greeks, Aeolus was the king or guardian of the winds. He lived in a cave with his many, many sons and daughters, and sent forth whatever wind Zeus asked for. When Odysseus stopped there on his way home from Troy, he received a bag of winds to fill his sails. But while he was asleep, his men, thinking it contained treasure, opened the bag and released the raging winds, which blew their ships all the way back to their starting point. An aeolian harp produces enchanting harmonies when the wind passes over it. According to Homer, it was the god Hermes who invented the harp, by having the wind blow over the dried sinews attached to the shell of a dead tortoise.

Examples of aeolian harp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps an ancient artifact calling down aliens from Alpha Centauri? Designed by artist Aristides Demetrios, this monumental sculpture is actually an aeolian harp, a musical instrument that plays itself when wind blows through it. —Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1750, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for aeolian harp

• carp
• scarp
• tarp
• endocarp
• pericarp