noun

harpsichord

HAHP-sih-kawd

noun

A keyboard instrument, popular before the piano, in which each key plucks a string rather than striking it with a hammer.

"The Baroque concert featured a harpsichord instead of a piano."

"Bach wrote many of his keyboard works for the harpsichord."

How to Use Harpsichord

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishAn early keyboard instrument that plucks its strings, giving it a brighter, thinner sound than a piano.

Easily confused with

piano →

harpsichords plural

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The Baroque concert featured a _____ instead of a piano.

From French harpechord, "harp string," via New Latin harpichordium, combining harpa ("harp") and chorda ("string").