Meaning & use
harmonium
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Meaning
nouncountablemusic
A keyboard instrument with metal reeds, where air pushed by bellows makes the sound, used in church and Indian music.
Grammar: Countable: play the harmonium, an old harmonium.
Patterns
- play the harmonium
- accompanied by a harmonium
The singer was accompanied by a harmonium and a drum.
An old harmonium stood in the corner of the village church.
She learned to play the harmonium while living in India.
Word forms
| plural | harmoniums |
|---|
Common combinations
- play the harmonium
- He plays the harmonium at weekly prayer meetings.
- pump the harmonium
- A child had to pump the harmonium with a foot pedal.
- accompanied by the harmonium
- The hymn was accompanied by the harmonium.
- portable harmonium
- The musicians carried a portable harmonium on tour.
- harmonium music
- Harmonium music filled the temple.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reed organ
- Reed organ is the more general name for the instrument family, while harmonium usually names the compact, bellows-driven kind.
- pump organ
- Pump organ stresses how the air is supplied, and in American English it is often used for older parlor instruments.
- melodeon
- A melodeon is a related small reed instrument, but it sometimes means an accordion-style one.
Word family
Commonly confused: harmonium or harmonica?
harmonium vs harmonica
A harmonica is a small instrument played with the mouth, while a harmonium is a larger keyboard instrument.
Practice
The singer sat cross-legged, pumping the bellows of her ____ as she sang.
Choose one answer.
A harmonium has bellows and keys. A trumpet or violin does not use bellows.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “harmonium”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.