litany

American  

[lit-n-ee] / ˈlɪt n i /

noun

plural

litanies

1. a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.

2. the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.

3. a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.

4. a prolonged or tedious account.

   We heard the whole litany of their complaints.

   Synonyms:

   enumeration, catalog, list

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litany British  

/ ˈlɪtənɪ /

noun

1. Christianity

   1. a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response

   2. the general supplication in this form included in the Book of Common Prayer

2. any long or tedious speech or recital

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litany Cultural  

1. In many religions, a ritual repetition of prayers. Usually a clergyman or singer chants a prayer, and the congregation makes a response, such as “Lord, have mercy.”

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Etymology

Origin of litany

before 900; < Late Latin litanīa < Late Greek litaneía litany, Greek: an entreating, equivalent to litan- (stem of litaínein, variant of litaneúein to pray) + -eia -y ³; replacing Middle English letanie, Old English letanīa < Medieval Latin, Late Latin, as above

Example Sentences

What has gotten out of hand is this litany of long-winded toasts.

From The Wall Street Journal

He netted at a World Cup and won a litany of trophies, both as a player and a coach.

From BBC

There was an embarrassing lack of punches by Paul and a litany of wild swings from Joshua that even a novice like his opponent was able to easily evade.

From BBC

That means reversing a litany of mistakes from the past decade, from killing popular models such as the Xterra SUV to chronic underutilization at its two U.S. factories in Tennessee and Mississippi.

From The Wall Street Journal

After a litany of stressful events, I couldn’t handle more handfuls of hair.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• catalogue
• recitation
• repetition