noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
här-mō′nē-əm
Received-Pronunciation:/hɑːˈməʊ̯.niː.əm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Canada, General-American:/hɑɹˈmoʊ̯.ni.əm/
Australian, New-Zealand:/hɐːˈmɐʉ̯.niː.əm/
Australian, New-Zealand, also:/hɐːˈməʉ̯.niː.əm/
Scotland:/haɹˈmo.ni.əm/
India:/hɑː(ɾ)ˈmoː.niː.um/
rhymes with -əʊniəm
CMU ARPABET:HH AA0 R M OW1 N IY0 AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A small keyboard instrument that consists of a series of reed pipes, which sound when one of the keys is pressed to open a valve that allows air to pass through.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Synonym of Hooke's atom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Hooke's atom
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: organ, reed organ
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: free-reed instrument
History
Etymology
Borrowed from French harmonium, coined by French harmonium inventor Alexandre Debain in 1840. By surface analysis, harmony + -ium. First attested in 1847.
Across languages
Translations
33 source translations are retained for this English entry.
