Etymograph

English

harp

Harp comes from Middle English harpe, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *harpǭ.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harpǭreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harpāreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hearpe
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500harpe
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1568harp

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harpǭreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harpāreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hearpe
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500harpe
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1568harp

Earliest quotation: 1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh]: “The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreb- ‘to turn, bend, shrink, rotate, touch, attack’

rampant, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *harpǭ

arpeggio, 1 more

Today it means

noun 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

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *harpǭ / harp

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