evensong
nounEtymology From Old English ǣfensang, equivalent to even + song. The use of even to mean evening is now obsolete except in poetry.
1
A religious service, most commonly seen in the Anglican or Episcopal Church, that takes place in the early hours of the evening; originally, and sometimes still, an alternative name for vespers or a service combining vespers and compline.
- On Wednesday last, after taking Evensong at the church, I was leaving the vestry when a lady stepped forward and asked if she might speak to me privately.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
- Related terms
- Magnificat and Nunc dimittis