orison means A prayer. It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, orison ranks #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,374 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,574 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
orison is pronounced /ˈɒɹɪsən/.
Why “orison” is a great word
A prayer, especially a set or formal one, or an act of mystical contemplation. From Middle English *orisoun*, from Anglo-Norman *oreison* and Old French *oraisun*, from Latin *ōrātiō*, *ōrātiōnem* ('discourse, prayer'). Unlike 'oration', which projects outward to a public audience, or 'supplication', which pleads for a specific boon, an orison is a quieter, more sustained turning of the spirit inward. It is the murmured liturgy in a cold dawn chapel, the silent attention before a candle's flame, the whispered plea into darkness that expects no answer but the speaking itself—a vessel for the weight of a solitary heart, where utterance becomes presence and silence, the deepest form of listening.
Etymology
From Middle English orisoun, from Anglo-Norman oreison, oresoun etc. and Old French oraisun etc., from Latin ōrātiō, ōrātiōnem (“discourse, prayer”) (whence also English oration).
noun
- A prayer.“The faire Ophelia! Nymph, in thy Orizons / Be all my ſinnes remembred.”
- Mystical contemplation or communion.“We shall see later that the absence of definite sensible images is positively insisted on by the mystical authorities in all religions as the sine qua non of a successful orison, or contemplation of the higher divine truths.”
Words closest in meaning
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