[ri-spond] 
| 1. | to reply or answer in words: to respond briefly to a question. |
| 2. | to make a return by some action as if in answer: to respond generously to a charity drive. |
| 3. | to react favorably. |
| 4. | Physiology. to exhibit some action or effect as if in answer; react: Nerves respond to a stimulus. |
| 5. | to correspond (usually fol. by to). |
| 6. | Bridge. to make a response. |
| 7. | to say in answer; reply. |
| 8. | Architecture. a half pier, pilaster, or the like projecting from a wall as a support for a lintel or an arch, the other side of which is supported on a free-standing pier or column. |
| 9. | Ecclesiastical.
|
| re·spond (rĭ-spŏnd') v. re·spond·ed, re·spond·ing, re·sponds v. intr.
To give as a reply; answer. n. Architecture A pilaster or half-pier engaged to a wall and carrying one end of an arch or groin, often at the end of an arcade. [Middle English responden, from Old French respondre, from Latin respondēre : re-, re- + spondēre, to promise; see spend- in Indo-European roots.] re·spond'er n. |
respond
plainchant melody and text originally sung responsorially-i.e., by alternating choir and soloist or soloists. Responsorial singing of the psalms was adopted into early Christian worship from Jewish liturgical practice. Most frequently the congregation sang a short refrain, such as Amen or Alleluia, between psalm verses sung by a cantor. As medieval plainchant developed, more elaborate refrains (R) were sung by a choir alternating with soloists singing psalm verses (V), producing a musical form R V1 R V2R. The responsory, or refrain, was frequently abbreviated on its repetition. Its text usually related to the meaning of the feast day or the content of the psalm. Only a few such chants survive in this long form, which is now normally curtailed.
Learn more about respond with a free trial on Britannica.com.
