Tenebrae

T1E1N1E1B3R1A1E1
/ˈtɛnəˌbɹeɪ//ˈtɛnəˌbɹiː/

proper noun

A Christian religious service celebrated by the Western Church on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, involving the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited.

OriginLatin tenebrae →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

proper noun

alternative Tenebræ

  1. ChristianityA Christian religious service celebrated by the Western Church on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, involving the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited.

Origin

  1. Latintenebrae“shadows, darkness”
  2. EnglishTenebrae

Learned borrowing from Latin tenebrae (“shadows, darkness”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Tenebrae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tenebrae

MLA

“Tenebrae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tenebrae. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tenebrae,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tenebrae.

Source: Tenebrae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.