noun
offertory
Offertory (noun) means a prayer sung or spoken while bread and wine are set on the altar during a Roman Catholic or Anglican church service.
noun
1
A prayer sung or spoken while bread and wine are set on the altar during a Roman Catholic or Anglican church service.
"There was an impressive musical program, conducted by Sheldon Smeeth, educational director of the Y.M.C.A., who also sang the offertory."
— Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt (1922)
2
The point in a church service when bread, wine, and any collected money are brought forward, or the money collected itself.
"Even the coins in the offertory were accredited with magical value; there were numerous popular superstitions about the magical value of communion silver as a cure for illness or a lucky charm against danger."
— Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971)
"I sat through the sermon, and the offertory, and the recessional."
— Upton Sinclair, They Call Me Carpenter (1922)
3
A cloth once used in ceremonies during a church service.
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Etymology
Came from Late Latin offertorium, from the participle stem of offere (“to offer”).
Rhymes for offertory
See all rhymes for offertory →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of offertory?
"offertory" (noun) means a prayer sung or spoken while bread and wine are set on the altar during a Roman Catholic or Anglican church service.
What are the different meanings of offertory?
"offertory" has 3 main meanings: 1. A prayer sung or spoken while bread and wine are set on the altar during a Roman Catholic or Anglican church service; 2. The point in a church service when bread, wine, and any collected money are brought forward, or the money collected itself; 3. A cloth once used in ceremonies during a church service.
