What does antiphon mean?
An antiphon is a short verse or sentence, usually drawn from Scripture or the liturgy, that is sung or recited as part of Christian worship, most characteristically by two groups answering one another in alternation. The term also denotes the musical settings composed for such texts, which occupy an important place in Gregorian chant and other Western liturgical traditions. The word carries a distinctly sacred connotation: it belongs to the vocabulary of churches, monasteries, and choirs rather than everyday speech, so encountering it usually signals a context of formal worship or the study of church music. Its defining feature is responsiveness — voice answering voice, cantor prompting congregation — making the antiphon one of the oldest surviving forms of participatory sacred music. The word derives ultimately from the Greek 'antiphōnon' ('sounding against'), and its English relative 'anthem' began life as a variant of it, giving the term an unexpectedly broad linguistic legacy.
nounA short sentence or verse sung or recited alternately by two choirs or congregations in responsive worship; more broadly, a piece of sacred music performed in this call-and-response manner.
- A verse or sentence from Scripture or the liturgy sung as a refrain, especially alternating between two choirs or between cantor and congregation
- A musical setting of such a text, particularly in Gregorian chant and Anglican church music
"The monks chanted the evening antiphon, one choir answering the other across the abbey church."
"The choir sang the appointed antiphon before each psalm during Vespers."
"Her new setting of the Marian antiphon was performed at the cathedral's Advent service."
Standard regular plural; the related abstract noun 'antiphony' refers to the practice or style of responsive singing.
"The manuscript contains over a hundred antiphons for the Divine Office."
The English word 'anthem' began life as 'antefn' — a direct descendant of 'antiphon' — before drifting from church chant to national song.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of antiphon
Antiphon comes from the Greek 'antiphōnon', meaning 'sounding in answer', formed from 'anti-' ('against, in return') and 'phōnē' ('voice, sound'). The word passed into Latin and then into Old English as 'antefn', which eventually developed into the modern English word 'anthem'. The current form 'antiphon' entered English in the medieval period through ecclesiastical Latin, retaining its original sense of responsive liturgical singing.
Related word forms
How antiphon is actually used
Antiphon belongs chiefly to religious and musicological registers — it appears in discussions of Christian liturgy, especially Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. It is not used casually; outside worship contexts it typically signals specialist knowledge of church music.
Easily confused with antiphon
An epiphonema is a summarizing exclamatory sentence at the end of a discourse, whereas an antiphon is a liturgical chant sung responsively.