psalm
Americannoun
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a sacred song or hymn.
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(initial capital letter) any of the songs, hymns, or prayers contained in the Book of Psalms.
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a metric version or paraphrase of any of these.
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a poem of a similar nature.
noun
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(often capital) any of the 150 sacred songs, lyric poems, and prayers that together constitute a book (Psalms) of the Old Testament
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a musical setting of one of these poems
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any sacred song or hymn
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of psalm
before 900; Middle English psalm ( e ), s ( e ) alm ( e ), psame, Old English ps ( e ) alm, sealm < Late Latin psalmus < Greek psalmós song sung to the harp, originally, a plucking, as of strings, akin to psállein to pluck, pull, play (the harp)
Explanation
A psalm is a religious song in the Bible. While you can read psalms as prayers, they are meant to be sung. The Book of Psalms is a section of the Christian Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible that includes 150 individual psalms. The word psalm, which is pronounced with a silent p, comes from the Greek word psalmos, "song sung to a harp," and its root, psallein, "play a stringed instrument." While they're not often backed by a harp these days, psalms are frequently sung with musical accompaniment in churches and temples.
Vocabulary lists containing psalm
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Passover Vocabulary
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Queen of the Sea
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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.
He woke up before 3 a.m. the day of the verdict and read the 23rd Psalm, translating it from Hebrew, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
However, Kardashian reportedly paid $23 million to retain the home after their 2022 split, and she has continued to live there with their four children—North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 29, 2025
“My car got impounded again. I am so sorry I’m late,” said Isaac Psalm Escoto, practically running into Jeffrey Deitch, a contemporary art gallery on Santa Monica Boulevard, energy drink in hand.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2024
An earlier post quoted a Psalm from the Bible: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2024
When he read a little later, in Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” he knew he would be safe.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
