divine office

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. office.

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divine office British  

noun

1. (sometimes capitals) the canonical prayers (in the Roman Catholic Church those of the breviary) recited daily by priests, those in religious orders, etc

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Etymology

Origin of divine office

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

divine office

He has brought divine office down to earth with a revolution in tone.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 10, 2016

First they set to work to find how the divine office should be celebrated.

From Time Magazine Archive

"The principal concern of the brethren," he wrote, "will be the celebration of the divine office."

From Time Magazine Archive

Elizabeth Felmersham, the Abbess, deposed that secular folk have often access to the nuns during the divine office in quire, and to the frater at meal-time....

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power

It is an ancient usage, but which, nevertheless, is not sensible, to fête the passage of the line by throwing water over one's self and aping a divine office.

From Hortense Makers of History Series by John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott