hymnal
[him-nl]
- Also called hymn·book [him-boo k] /ˈhɪmˌbʊk/. a book of hymns for use in a religious service.
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- of or relating to hymns.
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Origin of hymnal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hymnal
Contemporary Examples
Surreally, a choir of high school students at the gate adjoining ours begins singing a hymnal.
For his part, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is singing from Reid's hymnal.
Historical Examples
As originally composed, the collection could not be used as a hymnal.
Hymns and Hymnwriters of DenmarkJens Christian Aaberg
Mrs. Eddy has contributed the words of three of the hymns in the Hymnal.
Christian ScienceMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Behind her came the First Assistant with the prayer-book and hymnal.
Love StoriesMary Roberts Rinehart
She read the introduction, title-page, and acknowledgment of copyrights, in the hymnal.
Main StreetSinclair Lewis
A hymnal verse of the theme enters in the wood answered by impetuous strings on a coursing phrase.
hymnal
- a book of hymns
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- of, relating to, or characteristic of hymns
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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
Word Origin and History for hymnal
n.
c.1500, imnale, himnale, from Medieval Latin hymnale, from ymnus, from Latin hymnus (see hymn). As an adjective, attested from 1640s. Hymnal measure, a quatrain, usually iambic, alternately rhymed, is so called for being the preferred verse form for English hymns (e.g. "Amazing Grace"), but it has been popular in English secular poetry as well, "though it almost always suggests the hymn, directly or ironically" [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper