Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The canticle beginning Magnificat anima mea Dominum (“My soul doth magnify the Lord”).
  • noun A musical setting of this canticle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The song or hymn of the Virgin Mary in Luke i. 46-55, beginning “My soul doth magnify the Lord.”
  • noun A musical setting of this hymn.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The song of the Virgin Mary, Luke i. 46; -- so called because it commences with this word in the Vulgate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun music The liturgical canticle of the Virgin Mary, sung in Christian churches; taken from her reported words at the Annunciation

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (Luke) the canticle of the Virgin Mary (from Luke 1:46 beginning `Magnificat anima mea Dominum')

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin, from Latin magnificat, it magnifies, third person sing. present tense of magnificāre, to magnify, extol; see magnify.]

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Examples

  • The name of the song which Mary then sang, the Magnificat, has come from the first line in its Latin form, _Magnificat anima mea Dominum_.

    The Gospel of Luke, An Exposition Charles Rosenbury Erdman 1913

  • The Magnificat is one such example ... also the mystical poetry contained in the Song of Songs, with its idealized imagery of human love, a sustained metaphor for the nuptial love of Christ the Bridegroom for His Bride (the Church or, according to St. Bernard, the individual soul).

    Archive 2007-03-01 Heidi Hess Saxton 2007

  • The Magnificat is one such example ... also the mystical poetry contained in the Song of Songs, with its idealized imagery of human love, a sustained metaphor for the nuptial love of Christ the Bridegroom for His Bride (the Church or, according to St. Bernard, the individual soul).

    Canticle -- By Any Other Name... Heidi Hess Saxton 2007

  • 'Magnificat' -- not in Mary's words, it is true, but with Mary's music and with Mary's heart.

    Lancashire Idylls (1898) Marshall Mather

  • Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke clearly about his coming and his meaning in history when she prophesied about his mission in her famous prayer/song known as the Magnificat.

    Jim Wallis: God and Class Warfare Jim Wallis 2011

  • Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke clearly about his coming and his meaning in history when she prophesied about his mission in her famous prayer/song known as the Magnificat.

    Jim Wallis: God and Class Warfare Jim Wallis 2011

  • Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke clearly about his coming and his meaning in history when she prophesied about his mission in her famous prayer/song known as the Magnificat.

    Jim Wallis: God and Class Warfare Jim Wallis 2011

  • Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke clearly about his coming and his meaning in history when she prophesied about his mission in her famous prayer/song known as the Magnificat.

    Jim Wallis: God and Class Warfare Jim Wallis 2011

  • The Magnificat is the Evening Canticle, sung each day at the end of the Vespers Office; the text comes from the Gospel of Luke 1:41-55.

    Archive 2009-06-01 bls 2009

  • And yet, having read the Bible and researched books to write my play, I could not deny that she was an excellent and faithful believer (there is a reason the song is called the Magnificat), a good mother (when she freaked out when Jesus went missing at 12 plus her presence at his death) - in other words, a good person.

    mary in the margins Dean Francis Alfar 2005

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