sursum corda

[ soor-soom kawr-dah, kohr- ]

/ ˈsʊər sʊm ˈkɔr dɑ, ˈkoʊr- /

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noun Ecclesiastical.

the words “Lift up your hearts,” addressed by the celebrant of the Mass to the congregation just before the preface.

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Origin of sursum corda

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1550–60

Words nearby sursum corda

surrounding, surroundings, surround sound, surround theater, sur-royal, sursum corda, sursumduction, sursumvergence, sursumversion, Surt, surtax

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sursum corda in a sentence

Do you remember the passage where Burke alludes to the old warning of the Church—Sursum corda?
"Stops"|Paul Allardyce
It calls to the reader, as the early Christian litanies did to the worshipper, Sursum corda, Raise your thoughts!
Sonnets and Canzonets|A. Bronson Alcott
Corda made a number of claims for appendages, but all were shown by Barrande to be erroneous.
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites|Percy Edward Raymond
Abbas ire sede sursum,Et prioris juxta ipsum,Ego semper stavi dorsumInter rascalilia.
History of English Humour, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange

And it means also Sursum corda (Lift up your hearts) whenever the difficulties and sorrows of the desert seem too much.
Mater Christi|Mother St. Paul

British Dictionary definitions for sursum corda

sursum corda

/ (ˈsɜːsəm ˈkɔːdə) /

noun

RC Church a Latin versicle meaning Lift up your hearts, said by the priest at Mass

a cry of exhortation, hope, etc

Word Origin for sursum corda

C16: Latin, literally: up hearts

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