liturgy English · revision 1125

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɪtəd͡ʒi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlɪtɚd͡ʒi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|liturgia|t=public service, public worship]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) partly through [[frm|liturgie]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|grc|λειτουργία|tr=leitourgía|t=public service]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''leitourgós'' “public servant”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''leito-'' “public”, from ''lāós'' “people”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and ''-ourgos'' “that works”, from ''érgon'' “work”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[lay]] and [[laity]].^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The service of the Holy Eucharist, properly the rite of the Eastern Church (1560).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 1590s the word meant a form of public worship in general, or a collection of set formulas for divine service.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) With ''the'' it was used of the Book of Common Prayer (1629).^(OED 1989) In ancient Athens a ''liturgy'' was a public duty that wealthy citizens performed at their own cost, such as staging a drama or fitting out a warship,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a sense recorded in English from 1836.^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster also gives a figurative sense, a customary repertoire of ideas or phrases.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1560 – the Eucharistic rite.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1593 – a form of public worship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1629 – the Book of Common Prayer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – ''liturgical''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1836 – a public duty in ancient Athens.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A prescribed form or set of [[rite|alt=rites]] for public worship; [[ritual]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' The service of the [[Eucharist]], especially in the Eastern Church.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # A customary repertoire of ideas, phrases or observances.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In ancient Greece, a public service performed by a citizen at his own expense.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liturgical]]

+ * [[liturgics]]

+ * [[liturgiologist]]

+ * [[liturgiology]]

+ * [[liturgist]]

+ * [[Divine Liturgy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lay]]

+ * [[laity]]

+ * [[-urgy]]

+ * [[work]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}