Kyrie eleison
[Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church keer-ee-ey e-ley-uh-sawn, -son, -suh n; Greek Orthodox Church kee-ree-e e-le-ee-sawn]
- (italics) the brief petition “Lord, have mercy,” used in various offices of the Greek Orthodox Church and of the Roman Catholic Church.
- the brief response or petition in services in the Anglican Church, beginning with the words, “Lord, have mercy upon us.”
- Also called Kyr·i·e. a musical setting of either of these.
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Origin of Kyrie eleison
1300–50; Middle English kyrieleyson < Medieval Latin, Late Latin Kyrie eleīson < Late Greek Kýrie eléēson Lord, have mercy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Kyrie eleison
- a formal invocation used in the liturgies of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Anglican Churches
- a musical setting of this
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Often shortened to: Kyrie
Word Origin
C14: via Late Latin from Late Greek kurie, eleēson Lord, have mercy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for kyrie eleison
early 13c., Greek liturgical formula, adopted untranslated into the Latin mass, literally "lord have mercy" (Ps. cxxii:3, Matt. xv:22, xvii:15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show mercy to," from eleos "pity, mercy" (see alms).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper