What does antiphonary mean?
An antiphonary is a liturgical book containing the antiphons — short chanted verses — along with the other sung texts of the Divine Office, the cycle of daily prayers observed in monastic and cathedral communities. Used chiefly in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, it served as the working volume of the choir: large in format so that several singers could read from a single copy, and often richly illuminated with painted initials and decorative borders. Surviving medieval antiphonaries are prized today by scholars of music, art history, and liturgy, since they preserve both early musical notation and evidence of how worship was organized across the church year. The word carries a distinctly scholarly, ecclesiastical register and rarely appears outside contexts involving sacred music, manuscripts, or religious history. Related terms include 'antiphon', the individual chant itself, and 'antiphonal', which describes music performed by alternating groups of singers.
nounA book containing the antiphons and other sung portions of the Divine Office, used in liturgical worship, especially in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.
- A liturgical book containing the antiphons and sung texts of the Divine Office, used by choirs and cantors in Christian worship.
"The medieval antiphonary lay open on the choir's lectern, its illuminated initials glowing in the candlelight."
"The monastery's twelfth-century antiphonary survives in remarkably good condition, its parchment still bearing vivid pigments."
"As cantor, she was responsible for keeping the antiphonary open at the correct feast day throughout the season."
Standard plural, following the regular -y → -ies pattern.
"Several antiphonaries from the region were exhibited together at the library."
Some medieval antiphonaries were so large they needed a wheeled lectern just to be turned — a book built for an entire choir to read at once.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of antiphonary
The word derives from Medieval Latin 'antiphonarium', formed from 'antiphona' (a chanted response) with the suffix '-arium' indicating a collection or repository. 'Antiphona' itself traces back through Greek 'antiphōnon' ('sounding in answer') to Greek roots meaning 'against' or 'in return' plus 'sound' or 'voice'. The term entered English usage in the medieval period via ecclesiastical Latin, alongside cognates such as 'antiphon' and 'antiphonal'.
Related word forms
How antiphonary is actually used
A formal, specialized term encountered mainly in liturgy, musicology, and manuscript studies. In everyday use it appears almost exclusively in historical or ecclesiastical contexts; 'antiphonal' is the more familiar related word for general readers.
Easily confused with antiphonary
An antiphon is a single short liturgical verse or chant, while an antiphonary is the book that collects many such chants together.
'Antiphonal' most often describes music sung alternately by two groups (or refers to a similar book), whereas 'antiphonary' specifically names the liturgical book of the Office.