nocturn

American  

[nok-turn] / ˈnɒk tɜrn /

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. the office of matins, consisting of nine psalms and either three or nine lessons.

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nocturn British  

/ ˈnɒktɜːn /

noun

1. RC Church any of the main sections of the office of matins

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Etymology

Origin of nocturn

before 1150; Middle English nocturne < Medieval Latin nocturna, noun use of feminine of Latin nocturnus by night; replacing Old English noctern < Medieval Latin, as above

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nocturn

In the Breviary, before the recent reform, twelve psalms were recited in the first nocturn of Sundays and on ferias.

From The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley

The elders did not observe the nocturn that night until prime on the morrow.

From The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran Translations Of Christian Literature. Series V. Lives Of The Celtic Saints by R.A. Stewart MacAlister

A nocturn, a round of Psalms, was said on Saturday night by the vigilants preparing for the Sunday services.

From The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley

The lessons read at the third nocturn are patristic homilies on the Gospels, and together form a rough summary of theological instruction.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

Swinburne called this "the most sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world."

From The American Spirit in Literature : a chronicle of great interpreters by Bliss Perry