Tenebrae

American  

[ten-uh-brey] / ˈtɛn əˌbreɪ /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the office of matins and lauds for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week, sung respectively on the afternoon of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week, at which the Crucifixion is commemorated by the gradual extinguishment of candles.

---

Tenebrae British  

/ ˈtɛnəˌbreɪ /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) RC Church (formerly) the matins and lauds for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week, usually sung in the evenings or at night

---

Etymology

Origin of Tenebrae

1645–55; < Latin: literally, darkness

Example Sentences

In 1982, Giallo master Dario Argento directed a slasher film called Tenebrae, or “darkness.”

From The Verge • Sep. 3, 2021

The Office of Tenebrae is a special Holy Week liturgy of light and shadow.

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2016

An interest became an artistic revelation when Mr. Heras-Casado sang the choral Tenebrae Responsories of the Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria, discovering the intricacies of 16th-century polyphony.

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2012

There's plenty to keep early-music buffs happy at this festival, where concerts this summer include Gesualdo's "Tenebrae Responsoria"; Baroque music played by the Marion Verbruggen Trio; and Monteverdi madrigals performed by the ensemble Artek.

From New York Times • May 7, 2010

The church commences her solemn service of each of these days with that part of the divine office called matins and lauds, and at this time Tenebrae from the darkness with which it concludes.

From The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week at Rome by Baggs, Charles Michael