Definition of "vespers" []

• Ecclesiastical The sixth of the seven canonical hours. (noun-plural)
• Ecclesiastical A worship service held in the late afternoon or evening in many Western Christian churches. (noun-plural)
• Ecclesiastical The time of day appointed for this service. (noun-plural)
• Evensong. (noun-plural)
• Roman Catholic Church A service held on Sundays or holy days that includes the office of vespers. (noun-plural)

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.

• "Without warning or presage the still evening air was smitten and made softly musical by the pealing of a distant chime, calling vespers to its brothers in Antwerp's hundred belfries; and one by one, far and near, the responses broke out, until it seemed as if the world must be vibrant with silver and brazen melody; until at the last the great bells in the"
• "Half an hour after supper was read a brief evening service called vespers, and then the boys 'study hours commenced."
• "After vespers, that is to say half-past seven in the evening, the police regulations prohibit any woman from appearing in the streets dressed in the saya."