Vesper definition | Dictionary.com

ves⋅per

[ves-per]

–noun

1.	(initial capital letter) the evening star, esp. Venus; Hesper.

2.	Also called vesper bell. a bell rung at evening.

vespers, (sometimes initial capital letter

) Ecclesiastical.

a.	a religious service in the late afternoon or the evening.

b.	the sixth of the seven canonical hours, or the service for it, occurring in the late afternoon or the evening.

c.	Roman Catholic Church. a part of the office to be said in the evening by those in major orders, frequently made a public ceremony in the afternoons or evenings of Sundays and holy days.

evensong.

4.	Archaic. evening.

–adjective

5.	of, pertaining to, appearing in, or proper to the evening.

6.	of or pertaining to vespers.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME, partly < L: evening, evening star; partly < OF vespres evening service < ML vesperās, acc. pl. of L vespera, fem. var. of vesper; c. Gk hésperos; akin to west

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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ves·per (věs'pər) Pronunciation Key
n.

A bell that summons worshipers to vespers.
Vesper The evening star, especially Venus.
Archaic Evening.

[Middle English, evening star, from Latin, evening; see wes-pero- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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vesper

1390, "the evening star," from O.Fr. vespre, from L. vesper (masc.), vespera (fem.) "evening star, evening, west," related to Gk. hesperos, and ultimately from PIE *wespero- (cf. O.C.S. večeru, Lith. vakaras, Welsh ucher, O.Ir. fescor "evening"), from base *we- "down" (cf. Skt. avah "down, downward"). Meaning "evening" is attested from 1606. Vespers "sixth canonical hour" is attested from 1611, from pl. of L. vespera "evening;" the native name was evensong (O.E. æfen-sang). Hence also vespertine "of or pertaining to evening" (1502).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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vesper
noun
1.	a planet (usually Venus) seen at sunset in the western sky [syn: evening star]
2.	a late afternoon or evening worship service

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Vesper, WI (village, FIPS 82650)
Location: (44.481016, -89.967423)
Population (2000): 541 (243 housing units)
Area: 1.121954 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 54489

Vesper, WI (village, FIPS 14182650)
Location: (44.481016, -89.967423)
Population (2000): 541 (243 housing units)
Area: 1.121954 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 54489

Vesper, KS (township, FIPS 10573650)
Location: (39.003642, -98.296887)
Population (2000): 103 (54 housing units)
Area: 36.605480 sq mi (land), 0.015306 sq mi (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Vesper

Ves"per\, n. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. ?, ?, and perhaps to E. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.] The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. --Shak.

Vesper

Ves"per\, a. Of or pertaining to the evening, or to the service of vespers; as, a vesper hymn; vesper bells.

Vesper sparrow, the grass finch. See under Grass.