Magnificat
Americannoun
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(italics) the hymn of the Virgin Mary in Luke, 1:46–55, beginning “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” used as a canticle at evensong or vespers.
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a musical setting for this.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Magnificat
1150–1200; Middle English < Latin: (it) magnifies (from the first word of the hymn)
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.
The musician is best known for his choral compositions, including Christmas carols, anthems and extended works such as the Gloria, the Requiem and the Magnificat.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2025
Bach’s Magnificat and more, plus an audience sing-along.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2019
“She’s in the last movement of her life,” Rence says of Magnificat, the final feline survivor, whom she struggles, against all odds, to take home.
From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2018
Bach’s Christmas Magnificat was written in 1723 when Bach was a very busy and underpaid teacher and music director in Leipzig.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2016
A single meeting might include a recital of the Magnificat in Latin by a group of Roman Catholics, a whispered hymn by some Lutherans, and a sotto-voce chant by Eastern Orthodox women.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
