hallelujah
/ˌhalɪˈluːjə
/(also alleluia /ˌalɪˈluːjə/)
exclamation
God be praised (uttered in worship or as an expression of rejoicing).In the second - hallelujah! - the oldie in question is neither loveable nor crusty (Hollywood's usual options for the over-60s) but the sort of average bloke you might meet in real life....
- I asked for Linux recommendations, and - hallelujah!
- If this is how man was supposed to be created, hallelujah!
noun
1An utterance of the word ‘hallelujah’ as an expression of worship or rejoicing.The reporter observed that this comment was met with amens and hallelujahs....
- The congregation fell silent, then erupted into a chorus of hallelujahs.
- And yet, listening to all the hallelujahs and words of praise that were heaped on this quiet, unassuming lady for her honesty and courage, I had a troubling sense of déjà vu.
1.1 (usually Alleluia) A piece of music or church liturgy containing an utterance or utterances of the word ‘hallelujah’: the Gospel comes after the Alleluia verse...
- It is possible that plainchant developed to some extent through the embellishment of simpler originals, the ecstatic jubilus melismas of certain alleluias being a likely example.
- Uses of this format, known as responsorial psalmody, include the prokeimenon and alleluiarion of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, and the gradual, tract, and alleluia of the Roman Mass.
- Not just settings of the ordinary, but the copious amounts of plainchant needed to cover all the propers (the introit, gradual, alleluia, offertory, communion and other sentences, all of which change according to the day and festival).
Origin
Old English, via ecclesiastical Latin alleluia from Greek allēlouia (in the Septuagint), or (from the 16th century) directly from Hebrew hallĕlūyāh 'praise ye the Lord'.