Versicles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A brief verse or line from a larger text, often used in a religious context as a response or chant
2. A short segment of poetry or scripture typically recited or sung
3. A succinct excerpt from a literary work, primarily employed in liturgical settings

Etymology: Versicles are the short, call-and-response lines that a priest or cantor sings or speaks and the congregation answers, a feature of liturgy that gives the word its modern sense. The word is the plural of "versicle," and it reaches English by a path that runs through Latin and French. The Latin "versiculus" is a diminutive of "versus," meaning a line of verse or a turn of the plough, so the core idea is simply a short line. That Latin base was adopted into Old French as "versicule," and English took it up in Middle English as "versicle," a small word for a small unit of text. The meaning has stayed close to that original image. Because the diminutive ending marks the item as small, a versicle is a brief line rather than a full passage, which is why the term fits the rapid exchanges of the liturgy so neatly.

Synonyms: verses, sentences, lines, phrases