litany
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.
the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.
a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.
a prolonged or tedious account: We heard the whole litany of their complaints.
Origin of litany
1Other words for litany
Words that may be confused with litany
- litany , liturgy
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).
Ypres and the Battles of Ypres | UnknownThey scarcely needed a rostrum, for the age of sermons had not begun; still less the age of litanies and music and pomps.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V | John LordMoreover, the common custom of the Church confirms this, since in her Litanies she asks the prayers of the Saints.
On Prayer and The Contemplative Life | St. Thomas AquinasHis mind is still running on tonal variations in "Les Litanies de la Rose."
Instigations | Ezra PoundIt 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
/ (ˈlɪtənɪ) /
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
any long or tedious speech or recital
Origin of litany
1Collins 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
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.
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