Kyrie eleison

[ Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church keer-ee-ey e-ley-uh-sawn, -son, -suhn; Greek Orthodox Church kee-ree-e e-le-ee-sawn ]

noun
  1. (italics) the brief petition “Lord, have mercy,” used in various offices of the Greek Orthodox Church and of the Roman Catholic Church.

  2. the brief response or petition in services in the Anglican Church, beginning with the words, “Lord, have mercy upon us.”

  1. Also called Kyr·i·e . a musical setting of either of these.

Origin of Kyrie eleison

1
1300–50; Middle English kyrieleyson<Medieval Latin, Late Latin Kyrie eleīson<Late Greek Kýrie eléēson Lord, have mercy

Words Nearby Kyrie eleison

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

How to use Kyrie eleison in a sentence

  • The fire was then kindled, and his voice as it audibly prayed in the words of the “Kyrie eleison” was soon stifled in the smoke.

  • The first, which was the Kyrie eleison, is in D major, a movement full of fire and deep religious feeling.

    Life of Beethoven | Anton Schindler
  • "Kyrie eleison," repeated the throng in that murmur which runs over all heads, like the waves of a troubled sea.

    Notre-Dame de Paris | Victor Hugo
  • Maria Nuova, and the "Kyrie eleison" was chaunted a hundred times.

    Walks in Rome | Augustus J.C. Hare
  • Louder and louder sounded the "Kyrie eleison," with more and more valour and joy of victory the Christians pressed forward.

    Pine Needles | Susan Bogert Warner

British Dictionary definitions for Kyrie eleison

Kyrie eleison

/ (ˈkɪrɪɪ əˈleɪsən) /


noun
  1. a formal invocation used in the liturgies of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Anglican Churches

  2. a musical setting of this

Origin of Kyrie eleison

1
C14: via Late Latin from Late Greek kurie, eleēson Lord, have mercy
  • Often shortened to: Kyrie

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