[hahrp-si-kawrd] 
| a keyboard instrument, precursor of the piano, in which the strings are plucked by leather or quill points connected with the keys, in common use from the 16th to the 18th century, and revived in the 20th. |
| harp·si·chord (härp'sĭ-kôrd', -kōrd') n. A keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked by means of quills or plectrums. [Alteration of obsolete French harpechorde, from Italian arpicordo : arpa, harp (from Late Latin harpa, of Germanic origin) + corda, string (from Latin chorda, from Greek khordē; see gherə- in Indo-European roots).] harp'si·chord'ist n. |
A stringed keyboard instrument much used in the baroque era in music. The keys of a harpsichord move small devices that pluck the strings; the strings are not struck with hammers, as in a piano. Thus, although harpsichords often look much like pianos, their characteristic tinkly sound is unlike that of the piano, and a harpsichordist cannot change the volume of the sound by striking the keys harder, as a pianist can.
sɪˌkɔrd