Home › Glossary › Letter C

Canticle

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A sacred song or hymn, often scriptural in origin, used in liturgical or devotional contexts with lyrical intensity.

Detailed Definition
A canticle is a lyrical hymn or song of praise, often scripturally inspired (e.g., the Magnificat), characterized by elevated diction, parallelism, and devotional intensity; in secular poetry, it may adapt this sacred form to celebrate nature, love, or human resilience.
Example
Example in poetry:
Canticle in Song of Songs: "My beloved is mine, and I am his"; George Herbert’s "The Altar" as devotional canticle; Contemporary canticle by Denise Levertov: "O taste and see"; Canticles are lyrical hymns of praise or lament; The form bridges prayer and poetry
Additional Notes
Religious song or chant derived from biblical texts, particularly psalms. Closely related to hymn but maintains scriptural language. Most famous example is Song of Songs. See also: liturgical verse.
Also Known As
Hymn sacred song religious chant biblical song Song
Skip to main content