novena

[noh-vee-nuh, nuh-]

noun, plural no·ve·nae [noh-vee-nee, nuh-] /noʊˈvi ni, nə-/, no·ve·nas. Roman Catholic Church.

a devotion consisting of nine separate days of prayers or services.

Origin of novena

1850–55; < Medieval Latin novēna, noun use of feminine singular of Latin novēnus nine each

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for novena

Historical Examples of novena

Would you like a 'novena' to 'Our Lady of Tears,' whose altar is here?
Confessions Of Con Cregan
Charles James Lever
These devotions were called a Novena, which was a nine days' prayer-meeting.
The Adventures of the Chevalier De La Salle and His Companions, in Their Explorations of the Prairies, Forests, Lakes, and Rivers, of the New World, and Their Interviews with the Savage Tribes, Two Hundred Years Ago
John S. C. Abbott
This is what is said in the frontispiece of his novena, Manila 1918.
The Legacy of Ignorantism
T.H. Pardo de Tavera
Since then nothing in the Novena that is memorable is registered.
The Legacy of Ignorantism
T.H. Pardo de Tavera
Mamma,” asked Litka, “is it really necessary to say a novena for Pan Stas?
Children of the Soil
Henryk Sienkiewicz

British Dictionary definitions for novena

novena

noun plural -nas or -nae (-niː)

RC Church a devotion consisting of prayers or services on nine consecutive days

Word Origin for novena

C19: from Medieval Latin, from Latin novem nine

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 novena

1745, from Medieval Latin novena, fem. of Latin novenus "ninefold," from novem "nine" (see nine). Devotions consisting of special prayers or services on nine successive days.