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a song of praise or thankgiving intended to be used in religious service; as, the Homeric hymns; Watts' hymns. Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns. Col. iii. 16. Where angels first should practice hymns, and string Their tuneful harps. Dryden. Hymn book, a book containing a collection of hymns, as for use in ch…

A collection of hymns; a hymn book.

Relating to hymns, or sacred lyrics. Donne.

Praising with hymns; singing. "The hymning choir." G. West.

A writer of hymns.

Hymns, considered collectively; hymnology.

One who writes on the subject of hymns.

The art or act of composing hymns.

A composer or compiler of hymns; one versed in hymnology. Busby.

The hymns or sacred lyrics composed by authors of a particular country or period; as, the hymnology of the eighteenth century; also, the collective body of hymns used by any particular church or religious body; as, the Anglican hymnology.

The Muse of lyric poetry.

rmed by, the letters of the alphabet; alphabetic; hence, rudimentary. Abecedarian psalms, hymns, etc., compositions in which (like the 119th psalm in Hebrew) distinct portions or verses commence with successive letters of the alphabet. Hook.

- followed by of, against, or a subordinate clause. Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns. Col. iii. 16. I warned thee, I admonished thee, foretold The danger, and the lurking enemy. Milton.

a symmetrical and balanced whole, which may be sung by a single voice to the stanzas of a hymn or song, or even to plain prose, or played upon an instrument; a melody; a tune; an aria.

actions." Hooker. The union of womanly tenderness and angelic patience. Macaulay. Angelic Hymn, a very ancient hymn of the Christian Church; -- so called from its beginning with the song of the heavenly host recorded in Luke ii. 14. Eadie.

Formerly, a hymn sung in alternate parts, in present usage, a selection from the Psalms, or other parts of the Scriptures or the liturgy, set to sacred music.

t was customary, on some occasions, to dance round the altars whilst they sang the sacred hymns, which consisted of three stanzas or parts; the first of which, called strophe, was sung in turning from east to west; the other, named antistrophe, in returning from west to east; then they stood before the altar, and sang…

Sung or addressed to one departing; valedictory; as, apoplectic songs or hymns.

A song; esp. a little song or hymn. [Obs.] Bacon.

A hymn tune; a simple sacred tune, sung in unison by the congregation; as, the Lutheran chorals. [Sometimes written chorale.]