Stabat Mater

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