vesperal

American  

[ves-per-uhl] / ˈvɛs pər əl /

noun

Ecclesiastical.

1. the part of an antiphonary containing the chants for vespers.

2. a cloth used between offices to cover the altar cloth.

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vesperal British  

/ ˈvɛspərəl /

noun

1. a liturgical book containing the prayers, psalms, and hymns used at vespers

2. the part of the antiphonary containing these

3. a cloth laid over the altar cloth between offices or services

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Etymology

Origin of vesperal

From the Late Latin word vesperālis, dating back to 1615–25. See vesper, -al ¹

Example Sentences

She knelt and kneeling drank the scent of limes, Blown round the slow blind by a vesperal gust, Till the room swam.

From Georgian Poetry 1918-19 by Marsh, Edward Howard, Sir

Crome calls me like the voice of vesperal bells, Haunts like a ghostly-peopled necropole.

From Crome Yellow by Huxley, Aldous

Fixlein walked home, amid the vesperal melodies of the steeple sounding-holes; and by the road courteously took off his hat before the empty windows of the Castle.

From The Campaner Thal and Other Writings by Jean Paul

Joy it was here to love and to be young,  To watch the sun sink to his western bed, And streaming back out of their flaming core The vesperal aurora's glorious banners soar.

From Poems by Seeger, Alan