nocturn

American  

[nok-turn] / ˈnɒk tɜrn /

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

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

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nocturn British  

/ ˈnɒktɜːn /

noun

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

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nocturn

The elders did not observe the nocturn that night until prime on the morrow.

From The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran Translations Of Christian Literature. Series V. Lives Of The Celtic Saints by R.A. Stewart MacAlister

Swinburne called this "the most sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world."

From The American Spirit in Literature : a chronicle of great interpreters by Bliss Perry

Some think that the first nocturn was said about 9 p.m.

From The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley

In the Breviary, before the recent reform, twelve psalms were recited in the first nocturn of Sundays and on ferias.

From The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley

It is read in the third nocturn, which typifies the law of grace, in which the Apostles and their successors invite all to praise and worship God.

From The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley