Requiem

or req·ui·em

[ rek-wee-uhm, ree-kwee-, rey- ]
See synonyms for Requiem on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Roman Catholic Church.

    • Also called Requiem Mass . the Mass celebrated for the repose of the souls of the dead.

    • a celebration of this Mass.

    • a plainsong setting for this Mass.

  2. any musical service, hymn, or dirge for the repose of the dead.

Origin of Requiem

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin, accusative of requiēs ”rest” (the first word of the introit of the mass for the dead); see re-, quiet

Words Nearby Requiem

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How to use Requiem in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Requiem

Requiem

/ (ˈrɛkwɪˌɛm) /


noun
  1. RC Church a Mass celebrated for the dead

  2. a musical setting of this Mass

  1. any piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person or persons

Origin of Requiem

1
C14: from Latin requiēs rest, from the opening of the introit, Requiem aeternam dona eis Rest eternal grant unto them

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 Requiem

Requiem

[ (rek-wee-uhm) ]


In music, a Mass for one or more dead persons, containing biblical passages and prayers for the admission of the dead to heaven. The term has been loosely applied to other musical compositions in honor of the dead. A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, for example, uses texts from the Bible (see also Bible) but is not a Mass.

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.