Stabat Mater
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Sta·bat Ma·ter
(stä′bät mä′tər, stăb′ăt mā′tər)n.
1. A medieval Latin hymn on the sorrows of the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion.
2. A musical setting for this hymn.
[From Medieval Latin Stābat Māter (dolōrōsa), the Mother was standing (full of sorrow), the first words of the hymn : Latin stābat, third person sing. imperfect tense of stāre, to stand + Medieval Latin Māter, Mother (of God).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Stabat Mater
(ˈstɑːbæt ˈmɑːtə)n
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) RC Church a Latin hymn, probably of the 13th century, commemorating the sorrows of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion and used in the Mass and various other services
2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a musical setting of this hymn
[from the opening words, literally: the mother was standing]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Sta•bat Ma•ter
(ˈstɑ bɑt ˈmɑ tɛr, ˈsteɪ bæt ˈmeɪ tər)n.
1. a Latin hymn, composed in the 13th century, commemorating the sorrows of the Virgin Mary at the Cross.
2. a musical setting for this.
[literally, (His) mother was standing, the first words of the hymn]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Stabat Mater
A Latin phrase meaning the mother was standing, used to mean a Roman Catholic hymn that begins with these words.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited