Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A brief responsive prayer used as the first item in the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass or in any of various other Christian liturgies, traditionally beginning with the Greek words Kyrie eleison (“Lord, have mercy”).
  • noun A musical setting of this prayer.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The Kyrie eleϊson, especially in its western form (with Christe eleϊson), and the repetitions collectively, as used at the beginning of the Roman mass or as at the beginning of the Anglican conimunion office.
  • noun The musical setting of these words.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See Kyrie eleison.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin Kȳrie (eleison), from Greek Kūrie eleēson, Lord, have mercy : Kūrie, vocative of kūrios, lord, master; see keuə- in Indo-European roots + eleēson, aorist imperative of elein, to show mercy (from eleos, mercy).]

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