Rev. xiv. 2.
2. To dwell on or recur to a subject tediously or monotonously in
speaking or in writing; to refer to something repeatedly or
continually; -- usually with on or upon. "Harpings upon old themes." W.
Irving.
Harping on what I am, Not what he knew I was.
Shak.
To harp on one string, to dwell upon one subject with disagreeable or
wearisome persistence. [Colloq.]
Harp, v. t. To play on, as a harp; to play (a tune) on the harp; to
develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from
a harp; to hit upon.
Thou 'st harped my fear aright.
Shak.
||Har"pa (h‰r"p), n. [L., harp.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of marine univalve
||shells; the harp shells; -- so called from the form of the shells,
||and their ornamental ribs.
Har"pa*gon (-gn), n. [L. harpago, Gr. "arpa`gh hook, rake.] A grappling
iron. [Obs.]
Harp"er (h‰rp"r), n. [AS. hearpere.] 1. A player on the harp; a
minstrel.
The murmuring pines and the hemlocks . . . Stand like harpers hoar,
with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Longfellow.
2. A brass coin bearing the emblem of a harp, -- formerly current in
Ireland. B. Jonson.
Harp"ing (h‰rp"ng), a. Pertaining to the harp; as, harping symphonies.
Milton.
Harp"ing i`ron (`rn). [F. harper to grasp strongly. See Harpoon.] A
harpoon. Evelyn.
Harp"ings (-ngz), n. pl. (Naut.) The fore parts of the wales, which
encompass the bow of a vessel, and are fastened to the stem. [Written
also harpins.] Totten.
Harp"ist, n. [Cf. F. harpiste.] A player on the harp; a harper. W.
Browne.
Har*poon" (h‰r*pn"), n. [F. harpon, LL. harpo, perh. of Ger. origin,
fr. the harp; cf. F. harper to take and grasp strongly, harpe a dog's
claw, harpin boathook (the sense of hook coming from the shape of the
harp); but cf. also Gr. "a`rph the kite, sickle, and E. harpy. Cf.
Harp.] A spear or javelin used to strike and kill large fish, as
whales; a harping iron. It consists of a long shank, with a broad,
fiat, triangular head, sharpened at both edges, and is thrown by hand,
or discharged from a gun.
Harpoon fork, a kind of hayfork, consisting of bar with hinged barbs at
one end and a loop for a rope at the other end, used for lifting hay
from the load by horse power. -- Harpoon gun, a gun used in the whale
fishery for shooting the harpoon into a whale.
Har*poon", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Harpooned (-pnd"); p. pr. & vb. n.
Harpooning.] To strike, catch, or kill with a harpoon.
Har`poon*eer" (h‰r`pn*r"), n. An harpooner. Crabb.
Har*poon"er (h‰r*pn"r), n. [Cf. F. harponneur.] One who throws the
harpoon.
Harp"ress (h‰rp"rs), n. A female harper. [R.] Sir W. Scott.