vespers
/ˈvɛspɝz/
Etymology
From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us.
Euphemistic use first as Vèpres éphésiennes (“Ephesian Vespers”), coined in 1890 by historian Théodore Reinach by analogy with the Sicilian Vespers.
vespers means A Christian service held in the late afternoon or early evening; evensong. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
vespers is pronounced /ˈvɛspɝz/.
Why “vespers” is a great word
VESPERS — [Noun] The evening office of Christian liturgy, one of the canonical hours; also, a euphemism for a massacre. From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres, from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae ("vespers"), a substantivization of Late Latin vesperus ("of the evening"), from Latin vesper ("evening"). The euphemistic use for a massacre derives from the historical event 'Sicilian Vespers' (1282), with the phrase 'Vèpres éphésiennes' coined in 1890 by analogy. Unlike "evensong," which implies Anglican choral harmony, or "matins," which heralds the dawn, vespers is the primal office of the gloaming. It is the scent of beeswax rising into dim vaults, the communal murmur of psalms as shadows lengthen across stone, and the ringing of a single bell into the violet air—a ritual of order that, in its terrible historical inversion, names the chaos of blades drawn at the sound of that same bell. The word holds the peace of a prescribed twilight and the memory of how easily ceremony can curdle into bloodshed; it is the hour when promises to God and crimes against men share a name.
name
- A Christian service held in the late afternoon or early evening; evensong
noun
- The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service
- A massacre