Standard Lemma guide

hymnody

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation, US: /ˈhɪm.nə.di/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The hymns of a particular church or of a particular time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the act of singing psalms or hymns

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: psalmody

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: singing, vocalizing

History

Etymology

From Old French hymnodie, from Latin hymnodia, from Ancient Greek ὑμνῳδία (humnōidía), from ὑμνῳδέω (humnōidéō, “to sing a hymn”), from ὕμνος (húmnos, “song of praise”) + ἀείδω (aeídō, “to sing”).

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: virsien kirjoittaminen — writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms
  • Finnish: virsien säveltäminen — writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms
  • Finnish: virrenveisuu — writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms
  • Finnish: virsikokoelma — hymns of a particular church or of a particular time
  • Finnish: virsikirja — hymns of a particular church or of a particular time