litany

[ lit-n-ee ]
See synonyms for litany on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural lit·a·nies.
  1. a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.

  2. the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.

  1. a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.

  2. a prolonged or tedious account: We heard the whole litany of their complaints.

Origin of litany

1
before 900; <Late Latin litanīa<Late Greek litaneía litany, Greek: an entreating, equivalent to litan- (stem of litaínein, variant of litaneúein to pray) + -eia-y3; replacing Middle English letanie,Old English letanīa<Medieval Latin, Late Latin, as above

Other words for litany

Words that may be confused with litany

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use litany in a sentence

  • A surrounding fence (Hortus conclusus of the Litanies) is represented on the pedestal (photo opposite).

  • They scarcely needed a rostrum, for the age of sermons had not begun; still less the age of litanies and music and pomps.

  • Moreover, the common custom of the Church confirms this, since in her Litanies she asks the prayers of the Saints.

  • His mind is still running on tonal variations in "Les Litanies de la Rose."

    Instigations | Ezra Pound
  • It calls to the reader, as the early Christian litanies did to the worshipper, Sursum corda, Raise your thoughts!

    Sonnets and Canzonets | A. Bronson Alcott

British Dictionary definitions for litany

litany

/ (ˈlɪtənɪ) /


nounplural -nies
  1. Christianity

    • a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response

    • the Litany the general supplication in this form included in the Book of Common Prayer

  2. any long or tedious speech or recital

Origin of litany

1
C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin litanīa from Late Greek litaneia prayer, ultimately from Greek litē entreaty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for litany

litany

In many religions, a ritual repetition of prayers. Usually a clergyman or singer chants a prayer, and the congregation makes a response, such as “Lord, have mercy.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.