kyrie means A short prayer or petition including the phrase kyrie eleison, meaning “Lord, have mercy”. It carries an Arena rating of 1659, earned across 194 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, kyrie ranks #442 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,282 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,418 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #5,029 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
kyrie is pronounced /ˈkɪəɹ.ɪˌeɪ/.
Why “kyrie” is a great word
KYRIE — [Noun] A short liturgical prayer or musical setting for the Mass beginning with the Greek phrase ‘Kyrie eleison’ (Lord, have mercy). From Ecclesiastical Latin Kyrie, a contraction of the Ancient Greek phrase Κύριε ἐλέησον (Kúrie eléēson, "Lord, have mercy"), from Κύριε (Kúrie, vocative of Κύριος (Kúrios, "Lord"), from κῦρος (kûros, "supremacy, authority"), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēw-, *ḱewh₁- ("to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail"). Unlike "Agnus Dei," a later, Christological address within the Mass, or a general "supplication," any form of humble plea, the Kyrie is the primordial, penitential cry that opens the ancient rite. It is the cold stone beneath the knees of the penitent, the collective murmur rising into vaulted shadows, the ancient Greek vocative persisting amid a Latin liturgy—a human ache given a shape as old as authority itself.
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin Kyrie, contraction of the Ancient Greek phrase Κύριε ἐλέησον (Kúrie eléēson, “Lord, have mercy”), from Ancient Greek Κύριε (Kúrie), vocative form of Κύριος (Kúrios, “Lord”), from κῦρος (kûros, “supremacy, authority”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēw-, *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”).
noun
- A short prayer or petition including the phrase kyrie eleison, meaning “Lord, have mercy”.
- A setting of the traditional kyrie text to music for a Mass.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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