doxology

noun

dox·ol·o·gy | \ däk-ˈsä-lə-jē

\

plural doxologies

Definition of doxology

: a usually liturgical expression of praise to God

Did You Know?

Doxology passed into English from Medieval Latin doxologia, which in turn comes from the Greek term doxa, meaning "opinion" or "glory," and the suffix -logia, which refers to oral or written expression. It's logical enough, therefore, that "doxology" has referred to an oral expression of praise and glorification since it first appeared in English around 1645. The word ultimately derives from the Greek verb dokein, meaning "to seem" or "to seem good." Two cousins of "doxology" via "dokein" are "dogma" and "paradox." More distant relatives include "decent" and "synecdoche." The Gloria in Excelsis and the Gloria Patri are two of the best-known and most often sung doxologies in contemporary Christianity.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about doxology

Listen to Our Podcast about doxology

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near doxology

Statistics for doxology

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for doxology

The first known use of doxology was circa 1645

See more words from the same year

WORD OF THE DAY

nomothetic

involving abstract or general statements

Test Your Vocabulary

Liar, Liar Quiz

Someone who pretends to be sick in order to avoid work is a:

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games