nocturn

[nok-turn]

noun Roman Catholic Church.

the office of matins, consisting of nine psalms and either three or nine lessons.

Origin of nocturn

before 1150; Middle English nocturne < Medieval Latin nocturna, noun use of feminine of Latin nocturnus by night; replacing Old English noctern < Medieval Latin, as above

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Examples from the Web for nocturn

Historical Examples of nocturn

The elders did not observe the nocturn that night until prime on the morrow.
The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran
Anonymous
When all were assembled, fifteen psalms were sung; then came the nocturn and more psalms.
Curiosities of Christian History
Croake James
The contessa's reception began at the first nocturn, between sunset and midnight.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel
Robert Shea
It was to be lighted again by one of the novices appointed for the purpose during the last psalm of each Nocturn.
English Monastic Life
Abbot Gasquet
At half-past three in the afternoon the first nocturn began, with the Psalms, Lessons, etc.
Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

British Dictionary definitions for nocturn

nocturn

noun

RC Church any of the main sections of the office of matins

Word Origin for nocturn

C13: from Medieval Latin nocturna, from Latin nocturnus nocturnal, from nox night

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 nocturn

a division of the office of matins, early 13c., from Old French nocturne "evening service; curfew," from Medieval Latin nocturna, "group of Psalms used in the nocturns," from Latin nocturnus (see nocturnal).