Litany

Litany
Litany Lit"a*ny (l[i^]t"[.a]*n[y^]), n.; pl. {Litanies} (l[i^]t"[.a]*n[i^]z). [OE. letanie, OF. letanie, F. litanie, L. litania, Gr. litanei`a, fr. litaney`ein to pray, akin to li`tesqai, li`ssesqai, to pray, lith` prayer.] A solemn form of supplication in the public worship of various churches, in which the clergy and congregation join, the former leading and the latter responding in alternate sentences. It is usually of a penitential character. [1913 Webster]

Supplications . . . for the appeasing of God's wrath were of the Greek church termed litanies, and rogations of the Latin. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Litany — • A form of responsive prayer, used in public liturgical services and private devotions Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Litany     Litany      …   Catholic encyclopedia

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  • litany — c.1200, from O.Fr. letanie and directly from M.L. letania, L.L. litania (Cf. Sp. letania, It. litania), from Gk. litaneia litany, an entreating, from lite prayer, supplication, entreaty, of unknown origin. From notion of monotonous enumeration of …   Etymology dictionary

  • litany — litany, liturgy A litany (from Greek litē ‘prayer’) is a prayer couched in the form of a sequence of petitions. It has a figurative use in expressions such as a litany of curses or woes. A liturgy (from Greek leitourgia ‘public service, public… …   Modern English usage

  • litany — [n] recital of items, often part of religious services account, catalogue, enumeration, invocation, list, petition, prayer, recitation, refrain, repetition, supplication, tale; concepts 278,368 …   New thesaurus

  • litany — ► NOUN (pl. litanies) 1) a series of petitions used in church services, usually recited by the clergy and responded to by the people. 2) a tedious recital. ORIGIN Greek litaneia prayer , from lit supplication …   English terms dictionary

  • litany — [lit′ n ē] n. pl. litanies [ME letanie < OFr < LL(Ec) litania < Gr(Ec) litaneia < Gr litanos, pleading < litē, a request] 1. a series of fixed invocations and responses, used as a prayer 2. any dreary or repetitive recital or… …   English World dictionary

  • Litany — A litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania , from the Greek λιτή ( litê ), meaning prayer or supplication .For the… …   Wikipedia

  • Litany —    Form of responsorial prayer in which the leader makes varying invocations, which are answered with a consistent refrain:    Holy Mary, Mother of God . . . Pray for us.    Saint Michael . . . Pray for us.    Saints Peter and Paul . . . Pray for …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

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