often capitalized
: a sacred song or poem used in worship
especially
: one of the biblical hymns collected in the Book of Psalms
Examples of psalm in a Sentence
after the sermon we sang a brief psalm
Recent Examples on the Web
According to Francisco, the composers represented no less than 30 print collections of solo songs, cantatas, motets, polyphonic works, settings for psalms and masses, a magnificat, a vespers service, a dozen sonatas, and scores for nine operas and other staged works.
—
Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
A little less than half these psalms are attributed to King David, about a third are anonymous, and the rest are attributed to a variety of authors.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
Psalm 40 was one of the psalms composed by King David, according to Jim Showers, DMin.
EMERGENCY PRAYERS FOR ‘PEACE OF JERUSALEM’ FROM RABBI BEAR WEIGHT OF YEARS AND HISTORY: ‘GOD BLESS ISRAEL'
Showers is the executive director of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in New Jersey.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
David was also reputed to be a talented harpist and the author of many psalms, or devotional songs.
—V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for psalm 
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Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
A little less than half these psalms are attributed to King David, about a third are anonymous, and the rest are attributed to a variety of authors.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
Psalm 40 was one of the psalms composed by King David, according to Jim Showers, DMin.
EMERGENCY PRAYERS FOR ‘PEACE OF JERUSALEM’ FROM RABBI BEAR WEIGHT OF YEARS AND HISTORY: ‘GOD BLESS ISRAEL'
Showers is the executive director of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in New Jersey.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
David was also reputed to be a talented harpist and the author of many psalms, or devotional songs.
—V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for psalm
Dictionary Entries Near psalm
Cite this Entry
“Psalm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psalm. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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Etymology
Old English psealm "psalm," from Latin psalmus (same meaning), from Greek psalmos "psalm," literally, "twanging of a harp," from psallein "to pluck, play a stringed musical instrument"
Word Origin
The Greek word psallein originally meant "to pull" or "to pluck." It then came to be used with the meaning "to play a stringed musical instrument." From this verb came the noun psalmos, which literally meant "the twanging of a harp." Since harp music often accompanied singing, psalmos took on the meaning of "a song sung to harp music" and later simply "a song or poem." It was borrowed into Latin as psalmus and came into English as psalm.
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