introit

introit

See also: introït

English

WOTD – 22 November 2020

Etymology

PIE word
*h₁én

A page from a 14th- or 15th-century missal.[n 1] The fourth passage, up to the first word of its third line, is the introit (sense 1), and reads “Laetabitur justus in Domino, et sperabit in eo: et laudabuntur omnes recti corde” (“The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and all the upright in heart shall be praised”).

From Late Middle English introite (“act of entering in or into, entrance; place of entrance”),[1] borrowed from Old French introït, introïte (“introit”) (modern French introït),[2] or from its etymon Latin introitus (“act of entering in or into, entrance; passage; place of entrance; (figuratively) beginning, introduction, prelude”), from introeō (“to enter, go in”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs).[3] Introeō is derived from intrō (“to enter, go into”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”)) + eō (“to go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĭnʹtroit, ĭntrōʹĭt, IPA^(key): /ˈɪntɹɔɪt/, /ɪnˈtɹəʊɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɪnˌtɹɔɪt/, /ən-/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊɪt (one pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -ɔɪt (one pronunciation)
• Hyphenation: in‧troit, in‧tro‧it

Noun

introit (plural introits)

1. (Roman Catholicism, music) A prayer, typically part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible, read or sung at the start of Mass while or immediately after the priest ascends to the altar.

   Synonym: introitus

   • [1833, [Nicholas] Harris Nicolas, “Preface”, in Dionysius Lardner, editor, The Chronology of History. […] (The Cabinet Cyclopædia; XLIV), London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and John Taylor, […], OCLC 1144881589, page xvii:

     The Glossary of Terms used by ecclesiastics in the middle ages, who describe a day by the “introit,” or commencement of the service appointed by the church to be performed thereon, and an explanation of the Canonical Hours, Watches, &c. will frequently be found useful.]

   • 1833, [Nicholas] Harris Nicolas, “A Glossary of Dates; […]”, in Dionysius Lardner, editor, The Chronology of History. […] (The Cabinet Cyclopædia; XLIV), London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and John Taylor, […], OCLC 1144881589, page 110, column 1:

     Adorate Dominum. The introit* and name of the third Sunday after the Epiphany. [Footnote *: Introit.—The first two or more words that form the commencement of a mass, which, from being appropriated to a certain Sunday, or other festival, give the name of such commencement or "introit" to these days.]

   • 1982, Andrew Hughes, “Mass”, in Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A Guide to Their Organization and Terminology, Toronto, Ont.; Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 84:

     At some time during these sacerdotal preces the choir will usually have started the sung introit, the exact time for beginning the item dependent on a number of features such as the distance from sacristy to altar.

   • 2000, James [W.] McKinnon, “The Introit”, in The Advent Project: The Later-seventh-century Creation of the Roman Mass Proper, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.; London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 195:

     The earliest unequivocal reference to the Roman introit is from the turn-of-the-eighth-century Ordo romanus I, where the chant is described in its fully developed early medieval form. Consisting of an antiphon and psalm, it is sung during the entrance of the pope at the beginning of Mass.

2. (Christianity, chiefly Protestantism, music) A composition of vocal music sung at the opening of a church service.
3. (Christianity, chiefly Protestantism, music) An anthem or psalm sung before a Communion service
4. (obsolete) The action of entering or going in; an entrance.
5. (obsolete, figuratively) An introduction.

Derived terms

• introitive (obsolete, rare)

Translations

part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible read or sung at Mass immediately after the priest ascends to the altar

Aramaic: Classical Syriac: ܒܝܬܐ‎ m (baytā’) Dutch: introïtus (nl) m or n Esperanto: introitus Estonian: introitus Finnish: introitus (fi) French: introït (fr) m German: Introitus (de) m Hungarian: introitus (hu) Ido: introitus (io) Italian: introito (it) m Korean: 입당송 (ipdangsong) Latin: introitus m Norwegian: Bokmål: introitus Nynorsk: introitus Polish: introit m Portuguese: introito (pt) m Russian: интро́ит (intróit) Swedish: introitus (sv) Ukrainian: інтройт (introjt)

composition of vocal music sung at the opening of a church service

anthem or psalm sung before a Communion service

Notes

1. From the collection of the Helsinki University Library in Helsinki, Finland.

References

1. “introite, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
2. “introit, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
3. Compare “introit, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1900.

Further reading

• introit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• introit in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• introit in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Latin

Verb

introit

1. third-person singular present active indicative of introeō

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Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin introitus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˈtrɔ.it/
• Rhymes: -ɔit
• Syllabification: in‧tro‧it

Noun

introit m inan

1. (music, Roman Catholicism) introit, introitus (part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible read or sung at Mass immediately after the priest ascends to the altar)

Declension

Declension of introit

	singular	plural
nominative	introit	introity
genitive	introitu	introitów
dative	introitowi	introitom
accusative	introit	introity
instrumental	introitem	introitami
locative	introicie	introitach
vocative	introicie	introity

Further reading

• introit in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• introit in Polish dictionaries at PWN