canonical hour
Ecclesiastical. any of certain periods of the day set apart for prayer and devotion: these are matins and lauds, prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline.
Origin of canonical hour
1Words Nearby canonical hour
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How to use canonical hour in a sentence
Leech draws the baronet awakened by his servant, but too late: the canonical hour has passed.
John Leech, His Life and Work. Vol. 1 | William Powell FrithThe Abbey court sat in the chapter-house at the canonical hour of tierce, which was nine in the forenoon.
Sir Nigel | Arthur Conan DoyleHere it means the canonical hour for prayer so called, to announce which bells were rung.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales | Geoffrey ChaucerDeuce of any ghost shall we see to-night; it's long past the canonical hour.
Humorous Ghost Stories | Dorothy ScarboroughYou may think it impossible for me to reach London by the canonical hour.
Clarissa, Volume 6 (of 9) | Samuel Richardson
British Dictionary definitions for canonical hour
RC Church
one of the seven prayer times appointed for each day by canon law
the services prescribed for these times, namely matins, prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline
Church of England any time between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at which marriages may lawfully be celebrated
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
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