Tenebrae

American  

[ten-uh-brey] / ˈtɛn əˌbreɪ /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the office of matins and lauds for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week, sung respectively on the afternoon of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week, at which the Crucifixion is commemorated by the gradual extinguishment of candles.

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Tenebrae British  

/ ˈtɛnəˌbreɪ /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) RC Church (formerly) the matins and lauds for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week, usually sung in the evenings or at night

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Etymology

Origin of Tenebrae

1645–55; < Latin: literally, darkness

Example Sentences

In 1982, Giallo master Dario Argento directed a slasher film called Tenebrae, or “darkness.”

From The Verge • Sep. 3, 2021

The Office of Tenebrae is a special Holy Week liturgy of light and shadow.

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2016

They're also screening their early shorts and Argento's 1982 classic Tenebrae – an acknowledged influence.

From The Guardian • Jan. 8, 2011

Mr. Haas alludes to this tradition by quoting briefly from a Tenebrae setting by the Italian Renaissance composer Gesualdo — a startling moment in the context of this work’s experimental language.

From New York Times • Sep. 6, 2010

In the afternoon Tenebrae in the Sixtine chapel; and the Cardinal great Penitentiary goes to S Peter's.

From The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week at Rome by Baggs, Charles Michael