noun
-
a Christian song of praise sung to God or a saint
-
a similar song praising other gods, a nation, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
- hymner noun
- hymnic adjective
- hymnlike adjective
- unhymned adjective
Etymology
Origin of hymn
before 1000; < Latin hymnus < Greek hýmnos song in praise of gods or heroes; replacing Middle English ymne (< Old French ) and Old English ymn (< Late Latin ymnus )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These hymns need nothing more than measured repetition over a few beautiful melodies to stick.
From Salon
At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
From Barron's
In a prologue about Lee’s harsh childhood in Manchester, England, her mother hums a tune to her based on the traditional Shaker hymn “Beautiful Treasures.”
From Los Angeles Times
Addison Rae is a student of pop, and Headphones On is her master thesis – a hymn to music that whisks you away from the world for three minutes of distracted, hypnotic solace.
From BBC
She has tackled tackled famous operas, hymns and sung the national anthem countless times.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
