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litany

[ lit-n-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural litanies.

a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.
the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.
a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.
a prolonged or tedious account:
We heard the whole litany of their complaints.
Synonyms: , ,

litany

/ ˈ��ɪ��ə��ɪ /

noun

Christianity
1. a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response
2. the general supplication in this form included in the Book of Common Prayer
any long or tedious speech or recital

litany

In many religions, a ritual repetition of prayers. Usually a clergyman or singer chants a prayer, and the congregation makes a response, such as “Lord, have mercy.”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of litany¹

before 900; < Late Latin ��ٲ��ī�� < Late Greek ��ٲ��Ա�í�� litany, Greek: an entreating, equivalent to litan- (stem of ��ٲ�í�Ա𾱲�, variant of ��ٲ��Ա�ú�𾱲� to pray) + -eia -y ³; replacing Middle English letanie, Old English ��ٲ��ī�� < Medieval Latin, Late Latin, as above

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Word History and Origins

Origin of litany¹

C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin ��ٲ��ī�� from Late Greek litaneia prayer, ultimately from Greek ��ŧ entreaty

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Gonsolin has been sidelined with a litany of injuries since August 2023, when he was shut down because of an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow that required Tommy John surgery.

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Mr Ó Muirigh added that the family was made aware of a "litany of serious deficiencies in the investigation".

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LeBlanc never moves her camera away from the ground level; there are no policy prescriptions, no litanies of statistics and no melodramatic statements about pity or persistence.

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Bannon merely pointed at the litany of lawsuits against the Trump administration and Trump's own appeals to the Supreme Court, telling Maher that the Constitution "is open for interpretation."

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Fire safety advocates have attributed the continuing upward trend of acre zones to a litany of factors from development in fire-prone areas, ecosystem changes and climate change.

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Related Words

Li T'ai-po litas

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