I. ˈhim noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English ymne, hympne, partly from Old English ymen, hymen, from Latin hymnus and partly from Middle French himpne, from Medieval Latin hympnus, from Latin hymnus and partly from Old French ymne, from Medieval Latin ymnus, from Latin hymnus; Latin hymnus from Greek hymnos song of praise
1.
a. : a song of praise to God
grows into the chorus … with its triumphal hymn : Lift up your heads, O ye gates — J.P.Larsen
b. : a metrical composition adapted for singing in a religious service
collection of hymns, carols, anthems, gospel songs — Saturday Review
2. : a song of praise or joy
in jolly hymns they praise the god of wine — John Dryden
3. : something resembling a hymn especially in expressing praise : paean
this prose hymn of contentment in simple and external things — Douglas Bush
the plot of this hymn to American domesticity — Jack Weeks
painted a hymn to the wonder of light — Lewis Mumford
II. verb
( hymned ; hymned ; hymning ˈhimiŋ sometimes -mniŋ ; hymns )
transitive verb
: to sing the praises of : extol
still hymns his love of the earth and proclaims his faith in the race that inhabits it — B.R.Redman
specifically : to worship in song
intransitive verb
: sing
the lark hymns on high
specifically : to sing a hymn
the choir hymns softly in the chancel