psalm

From Middle English salm or psalme, from Old English psealm, later reinforced from Old French psalme (modern French psaume), both from Latin psalmus, from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “the sound emanating from twitching or twanging perhaps with the hands or fingers, mostly of musical strings”) (from ψάλλω (psállō, “to make a sound by striking, touching, plucking, rubbing, twanging, or vibrating”)), but later in New Testament times the meaning of ψαλμός (psalmós) evolved from its Classical meaning of "a tune played to the harp" to a more general tune that could be played with any instrument; even a song sung with or without musical accompaniment. By the Byzantine Period, it lost all of its instrumental nuances.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sɑːm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /sɑm/, /sɑlm/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɑːm

psalm (plural psalms)

1. (religion, music) A sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God.
2. One of the hymns by David and others, collected into one book of the Old Testament, or a modern metrical version of such a hymn for public worship.

• psalmist
• psalmodic
• psalmody
• Psalms (name of the book of the Bible in which the psalms are collected)

• psalter

psalm (third-person singular simple present psalms, present participle psalming, simple past and past participle psalmed)

1. To extol in psalms; to make music; to sing

   to psalm his praises.

   • 2012, George D. Manjounes, Good Morning, Morning Glory

     I psalmed like a Moslem high in his mosque. And like a Greek priest, I sang the divine liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

• Lamps, Palms, lamps, palms, plasm

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psalm m (plural psalmen, diminutive psalmpje n)

1. (music) psalm

• IPA^(key): /psalm/

psalm m inan

1. (music) psalm

From Old Norse salmr, psalmr, from Latin psalmus, from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “the sound emenating from twitching or twanging perhaps with the hands or fingers, mostly of musical strings”).

psalm c

1. a hymn, a church song
2. a psalm of David, one of the chapters of the book of Psalms

• Denominations in Sweden outside of the Church of Sweden (e.g. baptists) have traditionally not used the word psalm, but rather visa, sång (song). Recent integrated hymnbooks are titled Psalmer och visor (1976) and Psalmer och Sånger (1987) to indicated that they cover both the Church of Sweden and other denominations.