Dies Irae

Di·es I·rae

D0213200 (dē′ās îr′ā′)n. A medieval Latin hymn describing Judgment Day, used in some masses for the dead.

[Medieval Latin Diēs īrae, day of wrath (the first words of the hymn) : Latin diēs, day + Latin īrae, genitive of īra, wrath.]

Dies Irae

(ˈdiːeɪz ˈɪəraɪ) n1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity a famous Latin hymn of the 13th century, describing the Last Judgment. It is used in the Mass for the dead2. (Music, other) a musical setting of this hymn, usually part of a setting of the Requiem[literally: day of wrath]

Di•es I•rae

(ˈdi eɪs ˈɪər eɪ)
n. a Latin hymn on the Day of Judgment, commonly sung in a Requiem Mass. [Latin: day of wrath]

Dies Irae

A Latin phrase meaning day of wrath, used to mean a Latin hymn that describes the Day of Judgment.

Thesaurus

Noun

Dies Irae - the first words of a medieval Latin hymn describing the Last Judgment (literally `day of wrath')

Dies irae

(dē`ās ē`rā) [Lat.,=day of wrath], hymn of the Roman Catholic Church. A part of the Requiem Mass, it is a powerful description of the Judgment and a prayer to Jesus for mercy. Suggested in part by Zeph. 1.14–16, it was probably written by Thomas of Celano. In 16th-century polyphonic masses it was usually sung to the plain-song melody, but there are a few isolated examples of new music combined with the old melody in masses by minor composers. More recently, it has usually been supplied with new, and frequently intensely dramatic, music, notably by Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi. It is no longer in general use in Roman Catholic funeral liturgy.