canonical hour

American  

noun

1. 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.

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canonical hour British  

noun

1. RC Church

   1. one of the seven prayer times appointed for each day by canon law

   2. the services prescribed for these times, namely matins, prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline

2. Church of England any time between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at which marriages may lawfully be celebrated

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Etymology

Origin of canonical hour

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

Prime is properly the first canonical hour of prayer, or 6 a.m.

From The Lady of the Lake by Scott, Walter, Sir

Deuce of any ghost shall we see to-night; it's long past the canonical hour.

From Humorous Ghost Stories by Scarborough, Dorothy

From one canonical hour to the next they were there in converse, and making a covenant.

From The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran Translations Of Christian Literature. Series V. Lives Of The Celtic Saints by MacAlister, R.A. Stewart

For forty interminable minutes did the little party wait in the dreary church aisles, until the clock, and likewise the beadle, warned them it was near the canonical hour.

From Agatha's Husband A Novel by Crane, Walter

The Abbey court sat in the chapter-house at the canonical hour of tierce, which was nine in the forenoon.

From Sir Nigel by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir