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Definition of "invitatory" [in•vi•ta•to•ry]

  • A psalm or other piece sung as an invitation to prayer in church services, especially at the opening of matins in the Roman office. (noun)
  • Constituting or containing an invitation. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "invitatory" in a sentence
  • "Many, if not most, of these were contrafacts i.e, adapted from existing chants, such as the invitatory antiphons Venite omnes and Regem sepulcrum beati Iacobi."
  • "The rest of the standard Prayer Book service -- invitatory "O Gracious Light", Psalm, Apostles' Creed, prayers and collects -- will be sung or chanted."
  • "Tam o 'Shanter-like, elated with the contents of the pewter vessels, he nothing either feared or doubted, and off went the lad to the fairy hill; so, being arrived at the base, he was nothing loth to extend his voice to its utmost powers in giving utterance to the above invitatory verses."
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