释义 |
versicle, n.|ˈvɜːsɪk(ə)l| Also 5 Sc. wersikill, 5–6 versycle, 6 versickil. [ad. L. versicul-us versiculus. Cf. versicule.] 1. Liturg. One of a series of short sentences, usually taken from the Psalms and of a precatory nature, said or sung antiphonally in divine service; spec. one said by the officiant and followed by the response of the congregation or people; often collect. pl., a set of these with their accompanying responses.
a1380St. Paula 191 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 7 Þeos versicles heo seide and bad. 1425in Entick London (1766) IV. 354 This psalm, de profundis, with the versicles and Orissons that longeth thereto. 1486Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 16 To go on procession..syngyng a Respond..; that done, a versicle with the colet of Sȝ Stephen. 1579W. Fulke Ref. Rastel 743 The very sound and sense of the..Respondes, and Versicles, declare whence they proceeded. 1625Gonsalvio's Sp. Inquis. 97 The Psalme being ended.., the chiefe Inquisitour singeth a sort of Versicles: and the whole Quier answereth them with their Responses. 1631R. Brathwait Whimzies, Zealous Brother 120 Anthems and versicles he holds papisticall. 1710C. Wheatly Bk. Com. Prayer ii. §21. 50 Of the Versicles before the Lord's Prayer. 1721in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. VIII. 295 The Ordinary Discipline is to last the time of a Miserere, with the Versicle Christus factus est, and the prayer Respice quæsumus. 1795Mason Ch. Mus. ii. 154 The unaccompanied Chaunt, used in the versicles and responses. 1832W. Palmer Orig. Liturg. I. 219 From this it appears, that these versicles were not, perhaps, originally repeated in church, but at home, as a preparation for divine service. 1893W. Walker Three Churchmen 175 When he repeated the versicle ‘Lord save this woman, Thy servant!’ the clerk responded [etc.]. b. The sign (V, V', {versicle2}, or {versicle1}) with which these are noted or indicated in prayer-books, etc.
1888Jacobi Printers' Voc. 151. 2. A little verse, in various senses of that term: †a. A short clause or sentence; = verse n.1 3.
1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 231/1 A boke..in whiche was wreton thys versycle In euerlastyng memorye shal be my rightful hoostesse. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 198 Proceed in like manner, with the titles, attributes, and workes of God. Doe it for thy name, Doe it for thy goodnesse,..&c. in seuerall versicles. 1668Hale Rolle's Abridgm. Pref. 5 In Justinians time there were an incredible number of Versicles and Volumes of their Laws. c1710Burnet Autobiog. ii. (1902) 507 The condemnatory versicles in Athanasius' Creed. 1721R. Keith tr. T. à Kempis, Vall. Lilies vi. 13 Expound me this Word which thou spakest, open the Sense of this Versicle for the Comfort of thy Servant. b. † A verse of the Psalms or the Bible (obs.); now spec., one of the subdivisions of a Hebrew verse.
1624Bp. Hall Art Medit. (1627) 36 Wee shall lift vp our heart and voice to God in singing some versicle of Dauids diuine psalmes. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 82 That versicle of Psal. 119, ‘Righteous art thou, O Lord, and right are thy Judgements’. 1721Strype Eccl. Mem. (1822) II. i. 204 The psalms were in number fifteen,..made in imitation of David's Psalms; being digested into versicles. 1737Challoner Cath. Chr. Instructed (1753) 100 Then wiping the Chalice,..he goes to the Book, and reads a Versicle of the holy Scripture, called the Communion. 1783Blair Lect. xli. II. 389 When..one band began the Hymn thus: ‘The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice’, the chorus..took up the corresponding versicle. 1873Speaker's Commentary IV. 483/2 The second clause of the first versicle of this verse. c. A short or single metrical line; a little verse.
1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 128 On[e] pore simple versicle Had bene too mutch for such an article. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. v. (Arb.) 26 The American..and the very Canniball, do sing and also say, their highest and holiest matters in certaine riming versicles and not in prose. 1620Venner Via Recta v. 89 It behoueth him..to be mindfull of that prouerbiall versicle: Caseus est sanus, quem dat auara manus. 1637Gillespie Eng. Pop. Cerem. iv. iii. 7 The principall circumstances..are comprehended in this versicle: Quis, Quid, Vbi, Quibus auxiliis, Cur, Quomodo, Quando. 1652Needham Selden's Mare Cl. Ep. Ded. 8 According to that old Versicle Frangit & attollit vires in Milite causa. 1817Byron Let. to Moore 25 Mar., Here are some versicles. 1849Thackeray Pendennis (1850) II. 257 To these pretty little compositions Mr. Pen replied..with points of wit, nay, with pretty little verses very likely, in reply to the versicles of the Muse of ‘Mes Larmes’. 1893McCarthy Red Diamonds III. 143 She was fond of writing versicles and setting them to music. †d. Without article. Obs.—1
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. v. (Arb.) 26 How the wilde and sauage people vsed a naturall Poesie in versicle and rime as our vulgar is. Hence † ˈversicle v. intr. (with it), to sing versicles. Obs.—1
1550Bale Apol. 131 b, I knowe theyr progresse was great, as ye were wont to versycle it on theyr daies. |