Hypertext Webster Gateway: "hymn"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Hymn
occurs only Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16. The verb to "sing an hymn"
occurs Matt. 26:30 and Mark 14:26. The same Greek word is
rendered to "sing praises" Acts 16:25 (R.V., "sing hymns") and
Heb. 2:12. The "hymn" which our Lord sang with his disciples at
the last Supper is generally supposed to have been the latter
part of the Hallel, comprehending Ps. 113-118. It was thus a
name given to a number of psalms taken together and forming a
devotional exercise.
The noun hymn is used only with reference to the services of
the Greeks, and was distinguished from the psalm. The Greek
tunes required Greek hymns. Our information regarding the
hymnology of the early Christians is very limited.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hymn \Hymn\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hymned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Hymning}.] [Cf. L. hymnire, Gr. ?.]
To praise in song; to worship or extol by singing hymns; to
sing.
To hymn the bright of the Lord. --Keble.
Their praise is hymned by loftier harps than mine.
--Byron.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hymn \Hymn\, v. i.
To sing in praise or adoration. --Milton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hymn \Hymn\, n. [OE. hympne, ympne, F. hymne, OF. also ymne, L.
hymnus, Gr. ?; perh. akin to ? web, ? to weave, and so to E.
weave.]
An ode or song of praise or adoration; especially, a
religious ode, a sacred lyric; a song of praise or
thankgiving intended to be used in religious service; as, the
Homeric hymns; Watts' hymns.
Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns. --Col.
iii. 16.
Where angels first should practice hymns, and string
Their tuneful harps. --Dryden.
{Hymn book}, a book containing a collection of hymns, as for
use in churches; a hymnal.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
hymn
n : a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation) [syn:
{anthem}]
v 1: sing a hymn
2: praise by singing a hymn: "They hymned their love of God"
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