hearpe

Harp comes from Old English hearpe, from Proto-Germanic *harpō. Cognates exist in Old Norse (harpa), Old High German (harpha), and Dutch (harp). The word is ancient but its ultimate origin is unknown. It may be onomatopoeic — the sharp plucking sound of a string. Harps have been found in Mesopotamian tombs dating to 3500 BCE, and the bow harp may be even older, possibly derived from the hunting bow.

The harp became the symbol of Ireland through a combination of musical tradition and political identity. Irish harp music was famous across medieval Europe. The Brian Boru harp (Trinity College harp), dating to the 14th or 15th century, is Ireland's oldest surviving harp and the model for the harp on Irish coins, passports, and the national coat of arms. It is the only musical instrument on any national flag or emblem in the world.

The modern concert harp — the double-action pedal harp — was developed by Sébastien Érard in Paris in 1810. It has 47 strings and seven pedals, each of which changes the pitch of all strings of one note name simultaneously. The mechanism allows the harp to play in any key. Érard's harp is an engineering achievement: a massive wooden frame under more than 700 kilograms of string tension, with a pedal-and-disc mechanism inside the column that would be at home in a clock.

The word harp has generated figurative expressions. 'To harp on' something means to repeat it persistently — from the repetitive nature of arpeggio playing. A harmonica was once called a 'mouth harp.' The Aeolian harp plays itself in the wind. The word names not just an instrument but a principle: strings vibrating in open air.