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The harp has been called both "cruit" and "clarsach" in Scotland. The word "cruit" seems to be older. In Old Gaelic, it originally referred to any instrument with metal strings. The word "clarsach" first appears in the 14th century. Both terms were used in Ireland and Scotland, but eventually "cruit" became the word most widely used in Ireland and "clarsach" was the term used in Scotland. The word "clarsach" may be a contraction of "clar shoileach", meaning a willow board.

[Source: Tree of Strings by Keith Sanger and Alison Kinnaird, 1992, Kinmor Music, pp. 31-35.]

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