hymn

[him] /hɪm/
noun
1.
a song or ode in praise or honor of God, a deity, a nation, etc.
2.
something resembling this, as a speech, essay, or book in praise of someone or something.
verb (used with object)
3.
to praise or celebrate in a hymn; express in a hymn.
verb (used without object)
4.
to sing hymns.
Origin
before 1000; < Latin hymnus < Greek hýmnos song in praise of gods or heroes; replacing Middle English ymne (< Old French) and Old English ymn (< Late Latin ymnus)
Related forms
hymner
[him-er, -ner] /ˈhɪm ər, -nər/ (Show IPA), noun
hymnlike, adjective
unhymned, adjective
Can be confused
him, hymn.
Synonyms
1. anthem, psalm, paean.
Examples from the web for hymn
  • The listings under voice include music as well as librettos and song and hymn texts.
  • The saint's folk hymn finished, the rowers race to a cove down the coast, the flotilla in their wakes.
  • They all sing from the same hymn book and follow the same dogmas.
  • All singing from the same hymn sheet and controlling what goes in.
  • Cook opened the proceedings with a short prayer, and gave out one stanza of the hymn.
  • In the face of the marvellous things that dazzle and intoxicate him, his first speech is a hymn simply.
  • The postwar record world is coming in on the wings of an old-fashioned hymn sing.
British Dictionary definitions for hymn

hymn

/hɪm/
noun
1.
a Christian song of praise sung to God or a saint
2.
a similar song praising other gods, a nation, etc
verb
3.
to express (praises, thanks, etc) by singing hymns
Derived Forms
hymnic (ˈhɪmnɪk) adjective
hymnlike, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Latin hymnus, from Greek humnos
Word Origin and History for hymn
n.

c.1000, from Old French ymne and Old English ymen, both from Latin hymnus "song of praise," from Greek hymnos "song or ode in praise of gods or heroes," used in Septuagint for various Hebrew words meaning "song praising God." Possibly a variant of hymenaios "wedding song," from Hymen, Greek god of marriage (see hymen), or from a PIE root *sam- "to sing" (cf. Hittite išhamai "he sings," Sanskrit saman- "hymn, song") [Watkins]. Evidence for the silent -n- dates from at least 1530.

hymn in the Bible

occurs only Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16. The verb to "sing an hymn" occurs Matt. 26:30 and Mark 14:26. The same Greek word is rendered to "sing praises" Acts 16:25 (R.V., "sing hymns") and Heb. 2:12. The "hymn" which our Lord sang with his disciples at the last Supper is generally supposed to have been the latter part of the Hallel, comprehending Ps. 113-118. It was thus a name given to a number of psalms taken together and forming a devotional exercise. The noun hymn is used only with reference to the services of the Greeks, and was distinguished from the psalm. The Greek tunes required Greek hymns. Our information regarding the hymnology of the early Christians is very limited.