anthem

anthem
\ \ [OE] Anthem is ultimately an alteration of antiphon ‘scriptural verse said or sung as a response’ (which was independently reborrowed into English from ecclesiastical Latin in the 15th century). It comes from Greek antíphōnos ‘responsive’, a compound formed from anti- ‘against’ and phōné ‘sound’ (source of English phonetic, telephone, etc). By the time it had become established in Old English, antiphon had already developed to antefn, and gradually the /v/ sound of the f became assimilated to the following n, producing antemne and eventually antem. The spelling with th begins to appear in the 15th century, perhaps influenced by Old French anthaine; it gradually altered the pronunciation.
\ \ The meaning ‘antiphon’ died out in the 18th century, having been succeeded by ‘piece of choral church music’ and more generally ‘song of praise’. The specific application to a ‘national song’ began in the 19th century.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ANTIPHON, PHONETIC, TELEPHONE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Anthem — Жанр хеви метал Годы 1985 1992 1985 наст. время Страна …   Википедия

  • Anthem — An them ([a^]n th[e^]m), n. [OE. antym, antefne, AS. antefen, fr. LL. antiphona, fr. Gr. anti fwna, neut. pl. of anti fwnon antiphon, or anthem, n. neut., from anti fwnos sounding contrary, returning a sound; anti over against + fwnh sound, voice …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anthem — (izg. èntem) m DEFINICIJA glazb. zborna kompozicija u Engleskoj na biblijske tekstove ili na parafraze biblijskih tekstova SINTAGMA National anthem (izg. nèšonal anthem) term. britanska himna (God Save the Queen/King) ETIMOLOGIJA engl.: himna …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Anthem — An them, v. t. To celebrate with anthems. [Poet.] [1913 Webster] Sweet birds antheming the morn. Keats. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Anthem — (engl., spr. Enthem), in der englischen Kirche der in die Mitte des Altargottesdienstes eingelegte Figuralgesang, der vom Chor ausgeführt wird …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Anthem — Anthem, in England der Name für kirchliche Kompositionen einer zwischen Kantate und Motette stehenden Faktur. Man unterscheidet »full anthems«, in denen der Chor überwiegt, u. »verse anthems«, worin Soli, Duette etc. vorherrschen. Die Texte sind… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Anthem — (engl., spr. ännthĕm), eine etwa unsern Motetten vergleichbare Gattung von engl. Kirchenstücken …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • anthem — ● anthem nom masculin (ancien anglais antefn, du latin ecclésiastique antiphona, du grec antiphonos, qui répond à) Composition religieuse propre à l Église anglicane et reposant sur des traductions de textes bibliques. (Elle prend la forme de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • anthem — (n.) O.E. ontemn, antefn, a composition (in prose or verse) sung antiphonally, from L.L. antefana, from Gk. antiphona verse response (see ANTIPHON (Cf. antiphon)). Sense evolved to a composition set to sacred music (late 14c.), then song of… …   Etymology dictionary

  • anthem — [n] song canticle, chant, chorus, hymn, melody, paean; concepts 263,595 …   New thesaurus

  • anthem — ► NOUN 1) an uplifting song associated with a group or cause, especially a patriotic one adopted by a country as an expression of national identity. 2) a musical setting of a religious text to be sung by a choir during a church service.… …   English terms dictionary

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