hymnody

[ him-nuh-dee ]

/ ˈhɪm nə di /

noun

the singing or the composition of hymns or sacred songs.

hymns collectively, especially the collective hymns of a specific religion, place, or period.

Nearby words

hymn book, hymnal, hymnal stanza, hymnary, hymnist, hymnody, hymnology, hyoepiglottic, hyoglossal membrane, hyoid, hyoid arch

Origin of hymnody

1705–15; < Medieval Latin hymnōdia < Greek hymnōidía chanting of a hymn, equivalent to hýmn(os) hymn + ōidía singing (aoid- sing (see ode) + -ia -ia)

Related forms

hym·nod·i·cal

[him-nod-i-kuh l] /hɪmˈnɒd ɪ kəl/, adjectivehym·no·dist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hymnody

That collocation of languages gives the order in which the hymnody of the Church developed.
Hymns of the Early Church|John Brownlie
The last of these three classes points us to the birth time of Christian hymnody.
Music in the History of the Western Church|Edward Dickinson
It was he who, by his hymns, fixed the language forms that subsequently became the model for Swedish hymnody.
The Story of Our Hymns|Ernest Edwin Ryden
After the conversion of Constantine, the progress of hymnody became closely connected with church controversies.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various

Traces of poetic improvisation, which is so closely allied to hymnody, must be seriously considered at this point.
Christian Hymns of the First Three Centuries|Ruth Ellis Messenger

British Dictionary definitions for hymnody

hymnody

/ (ˈhɪmnədɪ) /

noun

the composition or singing of hymns

hymns collectively

Also called: hymnology

Derived Forms

hymnodical (hɪmˈnɒdɪkəl), adjective

Word Origin for hymnody

C18: from Medieval Latin hymnōdia, from Greek humnōidia, from humnōidein to chant a hymn, from hymn + aeidein to sing

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