antiphon

an·ti·phon  (nt-fn)

n.

1. A devotional composition sung responsively as part of a liturgy.

2.

a. A short liturgical text chanted or sung responsively preceding or following a psalm, psalm verse, or canticle.

b. Such a text formerly used as a response but now rendered independently.

3. A response; a reply: "It would be truer . . . to see [conservation] as an antiphon to the modernization of the 1950s and 1960s" (Raphael Samuel).

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[Late Latin antiphna, sung responses; see anthem.]

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antiphon

Noun

a hymn sung in alternate parts by two groups of singers [Greek anti- against + phōnē sound]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

antiphon - a verse or song to be chanted or sung in response antiphony church music, religious music - genre of music composed for performance as part of religious ceremonies gradual - (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass