vesper

[ ves-per ]

See synonyms for vesper on Thesaurus.com

noun

(initial capital letter) the evening star, especially Venus; Hesperus.
Also called vesper bell . a bell rung at evening.

vespers, (sometimes initial capital letter)Ecclesiastical.
- a religious service in the late afternoon or the evening.
- the sixth of the seven canonical hours, or the service for it, occurring in the late afternoon or the evening.
- Roman Catholic Church. a part of the office to be said in the evening by those in major orders, frequently made a public ceremony in the afternoons or evenings of Sundays and holy days.
- Anglican Church. evensong (def. 1).
Archaic. evening.

adjective

of, pertaining to, appearing in, or proper to the evening.
of or relating to vespers.

Origin of vesper

1350–1400; Middle English, partly <Latin: evening, evening star; partly <Old French vespres evening service <Medieval Latin vesperās, accusative plural of Latin vespera, feminine variant of vesper; cognate with Greek hésperos; akin to west

Words Nearby vesper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vesper in a sentence

At another time she took from Bouvard twenty sous, which she placed at vesper-time in the sacristans collecting-plate.
Bouvard and Pcuchet, part 2 | Gustave Flaubert
Like the meadowlark again, the vesper sparrow occasionally sings as it soars upward from its grassy home.
Bird Neighbors | Neltje Blanchan
Its habit of singing later in the evening gave it the name of “vesper.”
Western Bird Guide | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. Brasher
His attention was constantly interrupted by the little flutter of color made more distinct by a vesper before the photograph.
John Ermine of the Yellowstone | Frederic Remington
Would you could have heard that vesper hymn stealing hirsute through the mellow evening-air!
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for vesper (1 of 2)

vesper

/ (ˈvɛspə) /

noun

an evening prayer, service, or hymn
an archaic word for evening

(modifier) of or relating to vespers

Origin of vesper

C14: from Latin: evening, the evening star; compare Greek hesperos evening; see west

See also vespers

British Dictionary definitions for Vesper (2 of 2)

Vesper

/ (ˈvɛspə) /

noun

the planet Venus, when appearing as the evening star

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

Browse