Sanctus

American  

[sangk-tuhs] / ˈsæŋk təs /

noun

1. Also called Tersanctus.  (italics) the hymn beginning “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,” with which the Eucharistic preface culminates.

2. a musical setting for this hymn.

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Sanctus British  

/ ˈsæŋktəs /

noun

1. liturgy the hymn that occurs immediately after the preface in the celebration of the Eucharist

2. a musical setting of this, usually incorporated into the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass

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Etymology

Origin of Sanctus

< Latin sānctus holy, hallowed (past participle of sancīre to hallow), the first word of the hymn

Example Sentences

And we went in, and we heard as it were one voice crying Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, without any end.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2019

And concertmaster Peter Hanson had a beautiful, sweet violin in the Sanctus on Saturday.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2012

Commotio lapped up Pott's polyphonic Mass for Eight Parts, sailing through the tricky counterpoint of the Kyrie before savouring the thick textures of the Sanctus and its ecstatic, concluding Osanna.

From The Guardian • Feb. 12, 2012

The tenor Russell Thomas was the sweet-voiced soloist in the Sanctus that precedes the concluding “Agnus Dei.”

From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2011

They were singing the Sanctus, and had just come to the Amen when the verger appeared.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli