canticle
noun
can·ti·cle ˈkan-ti-kəl 
: song
specifically : one of several liturgical songs (such as the Magnificat) taken from the Bible
Synonyms
- anthem
- carol
- chorale
- hymn
- psalm
- spiritual
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the monks offered up a canticle at dawn on Easter morning
Recent Examples on the Web The first was Bach’s glorious 12-part canticle, premiered in 1723 as the conclusion of the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig as a sort of meet-your-new-cantor demonstration of his powers. 
Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021 The first was that the canticle contains an encomium of Saint Dominic, who in Merwin’s eyes was the most villainous churchman of the Middle Ages. Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, 17 Aug. 2017 For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically. Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021
Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021 The first was that the canticle contains an encomium of Saint Dominic, who in Merwin’s eyes was the most villainous churchman of the Middle Ages. Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, 17 Aug. 2017 For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically. Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021 Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin canticulum, diminutive of canticum song, from cantus, past participle of canere
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined above
canticles
noun
as in anthems
a religious song the monks offered up a canticle at dawn on Easter morning Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- anthems
- hymns
- psalms
- carols
- spirituals
- chorales
- dirges
- requiems
- oratorios
- hallelujahs
- paeans
- masses
- processionals
- recessionals
- threnodies
- laments
- Gloria Patris