harmonium
UK /hɑːˈməʊ̯.niː.əm/ · US /hɑɹˈmoʊ̯.ni.əm/ noun
Forms harmoniums
- noun (music) A small keyboard instrument that consists of a series of reed pipes, which sound when one of the keys is pressed to open a valve that allows air to pass through.
- noun Synonym of Hooke's atom.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French harmonium, coined by French harmonium inventor Alexandre Debain in 1840. By surface analysis, harmony + -ium. First attested in 1847.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A musical instrument, resembling a small organ and especially designed for church music, in which the tones are produced by forcing air by means of a bellows so as to cause the vibration of free metallic reeds. It is now made with one or two keyboards, and has pedals and stops.
Etymology [NL. See Harmony.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “harmonium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details