Angeluses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of prayers traditionally recited in the morning, at noon, and in the evening to commemorate an event in Christian belief; a small bell rung to mark the times for these prayers; a devotion involving specific recitation and gestures in Christian liturgical practice
2. Devotional prayers said three times daily to honor a significant religious mystery; the sound of a bell signaling these prayer times; a customary ritual of repeated prayer and meditation in Christian worship
3. Religious invocations performed morning, midday, and evening to remember a sacred event; the ringing of a bell indicating prayer time; a repeated liturgical observance involving specified prayers and responses in Christian faith

Etymology: "Angeluses" is the plural of "angelus", a noun for the daily Christian prayers. Its base is the Latin "angelus", the first word of the prayer's opening line, "Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae" ("The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary"). Prayers were often named after their opening words, so the devotion took its name from the angel in the Annunciation story.