Word.ws English Dictionary

harping iron

harping iron noun: a harpoon.

Noun

harping iron (plural harping irons)

  1. (archaic) A harpoon.
    • it [a whale] was killed with a harping iron , struck in the head1658 June 12 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for June 3 1658]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I...
    • They row up gently to the Whale, and so he will scarcely shun them; and when the Harpineer, standing ready fitted, sees his opportunity, he strikes his Harping-Iron into the Whale about or before the Fins, rather than toward the Tail.December 9 1667, Richard Norwood, Philosophical Transactions/Volume 2/Number 30, an extract of a letter, page 166

Forms of harping iron

pluralharping irons

Origin of harping iron

From French harper (“to grasp strongly”). See harpoon.

Questions about harping iron

What does harping iron mean?
Harping iron means a harpoon.
What part of speech is harping iron?
Harping iron is a noun.
What is the plural of harping iron?
The plural of harping iron is harping irons.

Words near harping iron in the dictionary

  1. harpies
  2. harpiform
  3. harpin
  4. harpineer
  5. harping
  6. harping iron
  7. harping irons
  8. harping Johnny
  9. harping on
  10. harping on one string
  11. harping on the same string

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: harping iron (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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