glass harmonica

noun

: a musical instrument consisting of a series of rotating glass bowls of differing sizes played by touching the dampened edges with a finger

Examples of glass harmonica in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The glockenspiel, the celesta, the glass harmonica, the piano, the fender piano, the electric bass. Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 3 Feb. 2023 Her voice, haloed in the eerie whistle of a glass harmonica, is an expression of rapture and fragility filtered through an inexorable discipline. Vulture, 25 Apr. 2022 Across from the church on the Paul Revere Mall, a small crowd huddled around a table beneath a tree, listening to a woman tease music out of a glass harmonica. BostonGlobe.com, 4 July 2021 Ethereal notes of a glass harmonica, its sound resembling that of clinking glasses, tinkled as incense wafted through the air. National Geographic, 5 Mar. 2019 Playing vocal tag with the eerie glass harmonica, lying on her back to sing a vocalise of erotic ecstasy, her voice bloomed with radiant allure, and Lucia was herself at last. Heidi Waleson, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2018 About 10 years later, Benjamin Franklin—one of the founding fathers of the United States—invented a mechanical version of the glass harp, called the glass harmonica. Science Buddies, Scientific American, 26 Nov. 2015

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of glass harmonica was in 1913

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Cite this Entry

“Glass harmonica.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20harmonica. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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