psalmody

[ sah-muh-dee, sal-muh- ]

noun,plural psal·mo·dies.
  1. the act, practice, or art of setting psalms to music.

  2. psalms or hymns collectively.

  1. the act, practice, or art of singing psalms.

Origin of psalmody

1
1300–50; Middle English <Late Latin psalmōdia<Greek psalmōidía singing to the harp. See psalm, ode, -y3

Other words from psalmody

  • psal·mod·ic [sah-mod-ik, sal-], /sɑˈmɒd ɪk, sæl-/, psal·mod·i·cal, psal·mo·di·al [sah-moh-dee-uhl, sal-], /sɑˈmoʊ di əl, sæl-/, adjective
  • psal·mo·dist, noun

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

How to use psalmody in a sentence

  • The once popular score that easily made the hymn a favorite, was “Salem,” in the old Psalmodist.

    The Story of the Hymns and Tunes | Theron Brown and Hezekiah Butterworth
  • It was a contribution to Bradbury's Psalmodist, which was published the same year.

    The Story of the Hymns and Tunes | Theron Brown and Hezekiah Butterworth
  • If you sing arms and the man for the West, you must sing Southerner and not Puritan, knight-errant and not psalmodist.

    The Way to the West | Emerson Hough
  • He was proud of his descent from Nahum Tate, the psalmodist, the copartner of Brady.

    Dealings With The Dead | A Sexton of the Old School

British Dictionary definitions for psalmody

psalmody

/ (ˈsɑːmədɪ, ˈsæl-) /


nounplural -dies
  1. the act of singing psalms or hymns

  2. the art or practice of the setting to music or singing of psalms

Origin of psalmody

1
C14: via Late Latin from Greek psalmōdia singing accompanied by a harp, from psalmos (see psalm) + ōidē ode

Derived forms of psalmody

  • psalmodist, noun
  • psalmodic (sɑːˈmɒdɪk, sæl-), adjective

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