harmonica

Meaning

1. A musical wind instrument with a series of holes for the player to blow into, each hole producing a different note.
2. A musical instrument, consisting of a series of hemispherical glasses which, by touching the edges with the dampened finger, give forth the tones.
3. A toy instrument of strips of glass or metal hung on two tapes, and struck with hammers.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌhɑɹˈmɒ.nɪ.kə/

Etymology

From armonica, coined by Benjamin Franklin to refer to his glass harmonica, an instrument that predated the small wind instrument by several decades. Doublet of harmonic.