Harpist

A harper; a performer on the harp. Harpocrates, n. ( Myth.) The Grecian name of the Egyptian god Har - pi - chruti (according to Bunsen and Lepsius) or "Horus, the child," the son of Isis, represented generally as a naked boy sitting on a lotus-flower, with his finger in his mouth, to denote (not, as is commonly supposed, silence), but the childish actions of infancy. See HORUS. Harponeer', n . Same as HARPOONER, q. v. Harpoon', n. [Fr. harp on, from harper , to gripe, to grapple, to seize; allied to Gr. harpazô , to snatch, to seize.] ( Naut .) An iron spear or javelin, shaped like a barbed arrow at one end, with a ring at the other, through which a rope is run; used for the purpose of spearing whales in the Green land and other whale-fisheries. The gun - harpoon , or harpoon - gun , is a weapon used for the same purpose, but which is discharged from a swivel or gun, instead of being thrown by hand. This weapon is formed entirely of metal, and has a chain attached to it, to which the usual line is joined on, as in the former case. The manner in which the H. is used, and whales captured, will be given under the article WHALE, q. v. (Called also harping -iron.) -v. a . To strike, catch, or kill with a harpoon; as, to har poom a porpoise. Harpoon'er, Harpooneer', Harponeer', n. One who uses an harpoon; the man in a whale-boat who throws the harpoon. Harp're , n . A female harpist. (R.) Harpsichord, ( harp'si - kord ,) n. [ Harp , and chord; 0. Fr. harpechorde .) (Mus.) A keyed musical instrument exactly resembling a grand pianoforte in shape, formerly much used, but now entirely superseded by the piano. The date of its invention is unknown, although it is supposed to have been about the 16th cent.; it was not, however, introduced into England until the 17th. It consists of a mahogany or walnut-wood case, within which is the belly, or sounding-board, over which the IMG:content-0528.png:[blocks in formation] Harps well Centre, in Maine, a post-office of Cumber land co. Harps well, in Maine, a township of Cumber land co. Har'py, n .; pl . HARPIES. [Fr. harpie; Gr. harpy in i , the Snatchers, from harpazo , to seize or snatch away by force.] ( Myth .) One of a sort of fabulons winged monsters, ravenous and filthy, having the face of a woman and the body of a vulture, with their feet and fingers armed with short claws. - Also a name given to the Storm-winds, (Gladstone's Homer and the Homeria Age.) In Hesiod they are represented as the beautiful daughters of Thaumas and Electra; but in later mythology, they resume the repulsive form under which Virgil has described them, ( En . iii. 211, .) A ravenous, rapacious person or animal; specifically, an extortioner; a plunderer; as, that old harpy of a landlady. (Zool.) A name given to some birds of prey of the sub-family Aquilinæ, but more usually applied in America to the Harpyia destructor (Cuv.), or Thrasaëtus harpyia (Linn.), - an inhabitant of the great tropical forests, where it preys chiefly on quadrupeds, and to a large extent on sloths and young deer. Of all birds, it has the most terrific beak and talons. It is larger than the common eagle; is short-winged and short-legged; the upper mandible greatly hooked; the feathers of the head capable of being erected into a great ruff or crest. It has not so elegant a form as the true eagles, but is probably equal to any of them in strength and courage. When adult, it is generally of a blackish slate color, with gray head, and white breast and belly. Harpy'ia, n. [Lat., harpy.] ( Zool . ) See HARPY. Harquebuse, n. See ARQUEBUSE. Har'rar, Har'ar, or Hur'rur, a prov. of Africa, S. of Aby in i a. It formerly constituted the ancient empire of Adel. Area , about that of the N. E. and Middle States of the U. S. Prod . Grain and coffee. Harrateen', n . A kind of cloth. Harrellsville, in N. C. , a p.-vill. of Hertford co. Har'ricanau, a river of British N. Am., rises abt. Lat. 49° 55' N., Lon. 77° 30 W., flows N.W. into James's Bay. Harrico, n. See HARICOT.