Meanings
plural psalmodies
- uncountableentertainmentThe singing or the writing of psalms.
All these strange antics were accompanied by still stranger guttural noises from the devotee, who seemed to be praying in a sing-song or else singing some pagan psalmody or other, during which his face twitched about in the most unnatural manner.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC1 more example
They deserved the enmity of the Pagans; and some of them might deserve the reproaches of avarice and intemperance; of avarice, which they gratified with holy plunder, and of intemperance, which they indulged at the expense of the people, who foolishly admired their tattered garments, loud psalmody, and artificial paleness.
1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XXVIII, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume III, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC - countableentertainmentA collection of psalms.
present singular third person psalmodies · participle present psalmodying · participle past psalmodied · past psalmodied
- To celebrate in psalms.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekψαλμός“psalm”
- Koine Greekψαλμῳδίᾱ
- Latinpsalmōdia
- Englishpsalmody
Borrowed from Latin psalmōdia, from Koine Greek ψαλμῳδίᾱ (psalmōidíā), from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “psalm”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).
More words from Latin, Koine Greek, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian псалмопение
- псалмопение (psalmopenie)singing of psalms
Catalan psalmòdia
- psalmòdiasinging of psalms
Finnish virsikirja, psalmikokoelma
- virsikirjacollection of psalms
- psalmikokoelmacollection of psalms
- virren veisuusinging of psalms
- veisuusinging of psalms
- veisaaminensinging of psalms
- psalmilaulusinging of psalms
French psalmodie
- psalmodiesinging of psalms
German Psalmodie
- Psalmodiesinging of psalms
Greek ψαλμωδία
- ψαλμωδία (psalmodía)singing of psalms
Hungarian zsoltároskönyv, zsoltárkönyv
- zsoltároskönyvcollection of psalms
- zsoltárkönyvcollection of psalms
- zsoltárénekléssinging of psalms
Italian salmodia
- salmodiasinging of psalms
Polish psalmodia, psalmodia
- psalmodiacollection of psalms
- psalmodiasinging of psalms
Portuguese salmodia
- salmodiasinging of psalms
Spanish salmodia
- salmodiasinging of psalms
Swedish psalmodi
- psalmodisinging of psalms
Welsh salmyddiaeth
- salmyddiaethsinging of psalms
Cite this entry
psalmody. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psalmody
“psalmody.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psalmody. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “psalmody,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psalmody.
Source: psalmody on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.