litany English · revision 1410

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 900}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɪtəni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|letanie]], later reshaped after the Latin,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(Skeat 1911) [[bor|fro|letanie]], [[la-med|letania]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|litanīa]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[grc|λιτανεία|tr=litaneía|t=prayer, entreaty]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|grc|λιτανεύειν|tr=litaneúein|t=to pray, entreat]], from [[m|grc|λιτανός|tr=litanós|t=suppliant]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|grc|λιτή|tr=litḗ|t=prayer, supplication]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Old English had [[ang|letanīa]] from Latin.^(RHWU)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An appointed form of public prayer, made up of a series of petitions with fixed responses (before 900 in the OED; probably before 1200 as ''letanie'' in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Book of Common Prayer ''the Litany'' is the general supplication in this form (c. 1420).^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) From about 1400 the word was extended to similar forms of supplication in other worship, and to any continuous repetition or long enumeration.^(OED 1989) The generalized sense of a repeated series, as in ''a litany of complaints'', became common in the early 19th century, probably from French ''litanie''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The spelling ''litany'' appeared in 1679, influenced by the Latin and Greek forms;^(Barnhart 1995) ''letanie'' had been usual until the 17th century.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 900 – Old English ''letanīa''.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle English ''letanie''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – a long enumeration.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1679 – the spelling ''litany''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1822 – a repetitive series.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[liturgy|alt=liturgical]] [[prayer]] made up of a series of petitions recited by a leader, each followed by a fixed response from the congregation.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A repetitive or incantatory recital or chant.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A long or tedious list or account, as in ''a litany of complaints''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[liturgy]]

+ * [[prayer]]

+ * [[supplication]]

+ * [[rogation]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}