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Antiphon

 - 4 dictionary results

an⋅ti⋅phon

  [an-tuh-fon]
Use Antiphon in a Sentence
–noun
1. a verse or song to be chanted or sung in response.
2. Ecclesiastical.
a. a psalm, hymn, or prayer sung in alternate parts.
b. a verse or a series of verses sung as a prelude or conclusion to some part of the service.
Origin:
1490–1500; < ML antiphōna responsive singing < Gk (tà) antíphōna, neut. pl. of antíphōnos sounding in answer, equiv. to anti- anti- + phōn() sound + -os adj. suffix. Cf. anthem
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·ti·phon   (ān'tə-fŏn')   
n.  

  1. A devotional composition sung responsively as part of a liturgy.

    1. A short liturgical text chanted or sung responsively preceding or following a psalm, psalm verse, or canticle.

    2. Such a text formerly used as a response but now rendered independently.

  3. A response; a reply: "It would be truer . . . to see [conservation] as an antiphon to the modernization of the 1950s and 1960s" (Raphael Samuel).


[Late Latin antiphōna, sung responses; see anthem.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

antiphon 
1500, "a versicle sung responsively," from M.L. antiphona, from Gk. antiphona, from anti- "over against" + phone "voice" (see fame). A re-adoption of the word which had become anthem and lost its original meaning.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

antiphon

in Roman Catholic liturgical music, chant melody and text sung before and after a psalm verse, originally by alternating choirs (antiphonal singing). The antiphonal singing of psalms was adopted from Hebrew worship by the early Christian churches, notably that of Syria, and was introduced into the West in the 4th century by St. Ambrose. The two choirs both sang the psalm text or, alternatively, one choir sang a short refrain between the psalm verses (V) sung by the other choir. The refrain was called an antiphon (A). The resulting musical form was A V1 A V2 A. Actually, most of the presentations of the antiphon were in abbreviated form. The antiphon text normally referred to the meaning of the feast day or the psalm. Canticles from the New or Old Testament might also be sung in this way

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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