harper

From Old English hearpere, from hearpe (“harp”) + -ere (“-er”).

harper (plural harpers)

1. A harpist, especially one who plays a traditional harp without pedals.
   • 1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh], “In the Fleete Made by Me William Cornishe otherwise Called Nyshwhete Chapelman with the Most Famose and Noble Kyng Henry the VII. His Reygne the XIX. Yere the Moneth of July. A Treatise betwene Trouth, and Information.”, in John Skelton; J[ohn] S[tow], editor, Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate, Imprinted at London: In Fletestreate, neare vnto Saint Dunstones Churche by Thomas Marshe, OCLC 54747393; republished as Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate to King Henry the VIIIth, London: Printed for C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, 1736, OCLC 731569711, page 290:

     The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye tune the harpe wrong / Mys tunying of an Inſtrument ſhal hurt a true ſonge

2. (obsolete) An old Irish brass coin bearing the emblem of a harp.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

• harp-player
• harpist

• Harper

• 2011. You Can Teach Yourself Lever Harp. Laurie Riley, Beth A. Kolle. Page 8.

harper c

1. plural indefinite of harpe

From Old High German harfan.

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /aʁ.pe/

harper

1. (transitive, intransitive) to grasp forcefully

• “harper” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

harper m or f

1. indefinite plural of harpe

harper f

1. indefinite plural of harpe

harper

1. to play the harp

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ps, *-pt are modified to s, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.