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Glite Dictionary
harmonium

harmonium

4 8.0
A small keyboard instrument that you play by pumping air through metal reeds
  • noun
  • /hɑːrˈmoʊniəm/
translation icon : armonio
  • One devotee accompanies them on a harmonium.
  • playing the harmonium
  • harmonium and tabla
  • harmonium or organ

So basically people get together and someone plays harmonium and someone plays a, a, a drum or something and you sing mantras and kirtans.

Examples

  • The harmonium has been carried up the hill and is in full voice, some youths dissipating their precious energy on its bellows.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Somewhere in the line, six sailors manhandle the harmonium up the jungle path.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • A harmonium is playing.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The beggar opened up his harmonium, and his blind eyes, looking like white marbles, were pointed towards me.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Mira sits near him, dreamily playing the harmonium for a woman from the Indian community who is singing a devotional song: high-pitched, passionate, and complex.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • During the concert, the musician skillfully played the harmonium, filling the room with enchanting melodies.

  • At the community center, we often gather to enjoy the soothing sounds of the harmonium during music sessions.

  • She practiced her favorite tunes on the harmonium every evening, hoping to improve her performance for the upcoming recital.

Synonyms

reed organ
vsharmonium
1 8.1

A keyboard instrument that makes sound when air is pushed through thin metal strips using hand pumps

is the general term for the same bellows-driven reed keyboard
seraphine
vsharmonium
  • Archaic
9.9

A small 19th-century keyboard instrument that uses an air pump to make sound

is the standard modern instrument rather than a historical smaller type
American organ
vsharmonium
  • US
9.9

A keyboard instrument that makes sound when air is pulled through thin metal strips, making a warm vibrating sound

forces air through reeds by bellows rather than drawing it in with suction

Surface Forms

harmonium singular
harmoniums plural

Morphology

harmonium = harmony (semi-transparent) = harmon + ium

The relation to 'harmony' is clear so learners may guess it's an instrument related to harmony, but '-ium' is a non‑productive borrowed suffix and the exact instrumental sense is lexicalized.

Etymology

Harmonium comes from the root harmon- (seen in harmony) from Greek 'harmonia', meaning 'fitting together', plus the ending -ium for an object. So a harmonium is literally a machine that makes sounds 'fit together'—it produces harmony.