antiphon

(antə fən, -fän′)

noun

  1. a hymn, psalm, etc. chanted or sung in responsive, alternating parts
  2. anything composed for responsive chanting or singing
  3. verses chanted or a piece of plainsong sung before or after a psalm, canticle, etc.

Origin: ML(Ec) antiphona: see anthem

See antiphon in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A devotional composition sung responsively as part of a liturgy.
  2. a. A short liturgical text chanted or sung responsively preceding or following a psalm, psalm verse, or canticle.
    b. Such a text formerly used as a response but now rendered independently.
  3. A response; a reply: “It would be truer . . . to see [conservation] as an antiphon to the modernization of the 1950s and 1960s” (Raphael Samuel).

Origin:

Origin: Late Latin antiphōna, sung responses; see anthem

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