Meanings
nounbook of hours (plural books of hours)
plural books of hours
- historicalChristianityAn illuminated Catholic devotional book, popular in the Middle Ages.
- ChristianitySynonym of horologion, the equivalent of the breviary in Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
Synonyms: horologion
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of horologion, the equivalent of the breviary in Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
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Also see
Origin
From the books' usual division of prayers according to the canonical hours.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan llibre d'hores
- llibre d'horesilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Chinese Mandarin 時禱書 /时祷书
- 時禱書 /时祷书 (shídǎoshū)illuminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Dutch getijdenboek
- getijdenboekilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Finnish tuntien kirja
- tuntien kirjailluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
French livre d'heures
- livre d'heuresilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
German Stundenbuch
- Stundenbuchilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Irish leabhar na dtráthanna
- leabhar na dtráthannailluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Polish godzinki
- godzinkiilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Russian часосло́в
- часосло́в (časoslóv)illuminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Ukrainian часослов
- часослов (časoslov)illuminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Welsh llyfr oriau
- llyfr oriauilluminated devotional book from the Middle Ages
Cite this entry
APA
book of hours. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book%20of%20hours
MLA
“book of hours.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book%20of%20hours. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “book of hours,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book%20of%20hours.
Source: book of hours on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.