dominical letter

American  

noun

1. any one of the letters from A to G used in church calendars to mark the Sundays throughout any particular year, serving primarily to aid in determining the date of Easter.

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dominical letter British  

noun

1. Christianity any one of the letters A to G as used to denote Sundays in a given year in order to determine the church calendar

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Etymology

Origin of dominical letter

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

Then 2 - 1 = 1; therefore, A being the first letter, is dominical letter for 1989.

From Our Calendar by Packer, George Nichols

Then 10 - 5 = 5; therefore E being the fifth letter is the dominical letter for 1365.

From Our Calendar by Packer, George Nichols

It is also evident that every additional day causes the dominical letter to go back one place.

From Our Calendar by Packer, George Nichols

Now what is true concerning the first four years of the era, is true concerning all the future years, and the reason for the divisions, additions and subtractions in finding the dominical letter is evident.

From Our Calendar by Packer, George Nichols

In order to make use of the solar cycle in finding the dominical letter, it is necessary to know that the first year of the Christian era began with Saturday.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various