Sanctus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hymn or chant in Christian liturgy praising holiness and often sung during the Eucharist
2. A sacred song used in worship services that declares the holiness of God
3. A religious chant expressing reverence and sanctity, typically performed in church ceremonies

Etymology: The Sanctus is named for its first word. In the Latin Mass, the prayer begins with "sānctus" ("holy"), and the chant takes its English name from that opening word alone, so the word has come to mean the whole sung hymn rather than the single adjective it started as. The prayer itself is built from scripture: its lines echo the seraphim's cry in Isaiah 6:3, "Holy, holy, holy," and the crowd's shout of welcome to Jesus in Matthew 21:9. The word is a doublet of "saint". Both descend from the same Latin adjective, but "saint" arrived through Old French and took on a sense of holy person, while "sanctus" was borrowed directly from Latin for use in the liturgy. Two English words from one Latin root, one worn into everyday speech and one kept fixed in church ritual.