Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Sanctus"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sanctus \Sanc"tus\, n. [L. sanctus, p. p. of sancire.]
1. (Eccl.) A part of the Mass, or, in Protestant churches, a
part of the communion service, of which the first words in
Latin are Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus [Holy, holy, holy]; --
called also {Tersanctus}.
2. (Mus.) An anthem composed for these words.
{Sanctus bell}, a small bell usually suspended in a bell cot
at the apex of the nave roof, over the chancel arch, in
medi[ae]val churches, but a hand bell is now often used;
-- so called because rung at the singing of the sanctus,
at the conclusion of the ordinary of the Mass, and again
at the elevation of the host. Called also {Mass bell},
{sacring bell}, {saints' bell}, {sance-bell}, {sancte
bell}.
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