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novena

American  
[noh-vee-nuh, nuh-] / noʊˈvi nə, nə- /

noun

Roman Catholic Church.
  • novenae,
    plural
  • novenas
    plural
  1. a devotion consisting of nine separate days of prayers or services.


novena British  
/ nəʊˈviːnə /

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of novena

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


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.

See Examples For:

But she thought of this daily ritual as a kind of novena: a prayer repeated for nine days to appeal a misfortune or request a special favor.

From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2023

Sometimes I post a prayer, like the Christmas novena, which my mother-in-law always said at the table on Christmas Eve.

From Fox News ● Dec. 12, 2021

At St. Patrick, parishioners set aside a time every day for a novena prayer.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2021

They recited the rosary for nine nights, the traditional novena.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2021

And then I’d take him with me to Salcedo for an afternoon novena and a coconut ice afterwards.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

I was raised Catholic, and made to navigate the weirdness of First Holy Communion, novenas and trips to the shrine at Knock.

From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

Those same officials might be saying quiet novenas that it's not one of the others hovering in the rarefied air of top-10 status after the opening round - the dreaded LIV set.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2022

Some started novenas, or nine-day prayers, and encouraged family and friends to join in.

From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2022

Pueblo medicine men filled the rooms of the sick with smoke, and Hispanic villagers crowded around the dying, saying the rosary and praying novenas.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2020

Most people believed in the miracle and they even lighted candles and celebrated novenas.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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