aeolian harp

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Aeolian harp

An instrument consisting of an open box over which are stretched strings that sound when the wind passes over them. Also called wind harp.

[From Aeolian, relating to Aeolus, god of the winds.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

aeolian harp

(Instruments) a stringed instrument that produces a musical sound when a current of air or wind passes over the strings. Also called: wind harp

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

aeo′lian harp′

a box with an opening across which are stretched a number of strings of equal length that are tuned in unison and sounded by the wind.

[1785–95]

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Noun

aeolian harp - a harp having strings tuned in unison; they sound when wind passes over them

aeolian lyre, wind harp

harp - a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers

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It is as though the Aeolian harps had caught some strayed wind from an unknown world, and brought strange messages from peopled stars.

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A strange roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks and the wind made in their branches the music of AEolian harps. He had not wish to perfect his escape -- he was content to remain in that enchanting spot until retaken.

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"My name is Manicamp," replied the young man, in a voice whose tones were as harmonious and sweet as the notes of an AEolian harp.