‖ clairschach
(ˈklɑːʃəx)
Forms: 5 clareschaw, clerschew, 7 clersha, 8 clarishoe, 9 clarshech, clearsach, clairschach, clairsach.
[Gael. and Ir. clairseach (ˈklarʃax) harp, perh. f. clar table, board; but the rest of the word is obscure.]
The old Celtic harp strung with wire.
| 1490 Act. Dom. Concil. 172 (Jam.) For the spoliacioune and takin fra him of..ane clareschaw, & certane stuff and insicht of houshald. 1491 Ibid. 204 (Jam.) Clerschew. 1700 J. Brome Trav. iii. (1707) 179 [Highlanders] delight much in Musick, but chiefly in Harps and Clarishoes of their own Fashion, the strings of which are made of Brass-Wire, and the strings of their Harps with Sinews. 1824 Praed Poems (1864) I. 283 Of clairschachs and of atabals. a 1844 Campbell O'Connor's Child viii, And berries from the wood provide And play my clarshech [edd. the clarsech] by thy side. 1862 Grant Capt. Guard vi, A clairsach, or harp of the old Scottish form, being only thirty inches or so in height, and furnished with thirty string holes. |