antiphon
Americannoun
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a verse or song to be chanted or sung in response.
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Ecclesiastical.
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a psalm, hymn, or prayer sung in alternate parts.
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a verse or a series of verses sung as a prelude or conclusion to some part of the service.
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noun
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a short passage, usually from the Bible, recited or sung as a response after certain parts of a liturgical service
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a psalm, hymn, etc, chanted or sung in alternate parts
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any response or answer
Etymology
Origin of antiphon
1490–1500; < Medieval Latin antiphōna responsive singing < Greek ( tà ) antíphōna, neuter plural of antíphōnos sounding in answer, equivalent to anti- anti- + phōn ( ḗ ) sound + -os adj. suffix. Cf. anthem
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Clusterchord EP is out now on Antiphon, with the Scorpio Little Devil album to follow in January 2013.
From The Guardian • Nov. 26, 2012
Writer Djuna Barnes's allusive verse play, The Antiphon, which opened in Stockholm.
From Time Magazine Archive
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You think, Antiphon, I live so poorly that I believe you would rather die than live like me.
From The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates by Morley, Henry
The proposal was accepted; and Antiphon, a celebrated diviner, appointed to consult the oracle.
From Philothea A Grecian Romance by Child, Lydia Maria Francis
Antiphon, the sophist, says: "The law, the outcome of an agreement, coerces nature, the result of growth, and goes against the interest of the individual."
From Morals and the Evolution of Man by Nordau, Max Simon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.