pəˈrikə(ˌ)pē noun
( plural pericopes -ēz ; also pericopae -(ˌ)pē, -ˌpī)
Etymology: Late Latin, section of a book, from Greek perikopē act of cutting around, section, from peri- + kopē action of cutting; akin to Greek koptein to smite, cut off — more at capon
1. : a selection or extract from a book ; especially : a selection from the Bible appointed to be read in church or used as a text for a sermon
2.
[Greek perikopē section (as in the phrase kata perikopēn anomoiomerē of unlike parts as far as the section is concerned — used to describe such a group of strophes)]
Greek & Latin prosody : a group of strophes in choral lyric each of which has a different structure corresponding to another such group in which each will have similarly differentiated structures