breviary
UK /ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/ · US /ˈbɹɛv.i.ɛɹ.i/ noun
Forms breviaries
- noun A book containing prayers, hymns, and so on for everyday use at the canonical hours.
- noun (obsolete) A brief statement or summary.
Etymology
From Latin breviārium (“summary”) (compare abbreviation), ultimately from brevis (“short”). Doublet of brevier and brimborion.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An abridgment; a compend; an epitome; a brief account or summary.
- noun A book containing the daily public or canonical prayers of the Roman Catholic or of the Greek Church for the seven canonical hours, namely, matins and lauds, the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, and compline; --distinguished from the missal.
Etymology [F. bréviarie, L. breviarium summary, abridgment, neut. noun fr. breviarius abridged, fr. brevis short. See Brief, and cf. Brevier.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “breviary”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details