Sanctus

[ sangk-tuhs ]

noun

1. (italics) Also called Tersanctus. the hymn beginning “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,” with which the Eucharistic preface culminates.
2. a musical setting for this hymn.

Sanctus

/ ˈsæŋktəs /

noun

1. liturgy the hymn that occurs immediately after the preface in the celebration of the Eucharist
2. a musical setting of this, usually incorporated into the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sanctus¹

< Latin sānctus holy, hallowed (past participle of sancīre to hallow), the first word of the hymn

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sanctus¹

C14: from the first word of the hymn, Sanctus sanctus sanctus Holy, holy, holy, from Latin sancīre to consecrate

Example Sentences

Panufnik, whose body of choral music includes a “Coronation Sanctus,” written for the crowning of Charles III, composed a “Kyrie After Byrd” in 2014 and is working on another response.

From New York Times

Panufnik, whose body of choral music includes a “Coronation Sanctus,” written for the crowning of Charles III, composed a “Kyrie After Byrd” in 2014 and is working on another response.

From New York Times

Wednesday’s Sanctus was one of divine wonderment; the Agnus Dei resonated from the lower strings with the richness of an organ.

From New York Times

Between the two versions of “Spiritus sanctus vivificans vita,” an antiphon by Hildegard von Bingen, for example, or between that antiphon’s simplicity and the angular density of George Enescu’s “Fantaisie concertante.”

From New York Times

The “Sanctus” — a fugue for double chorus — here becomes “Kumbaya,” which threads gratitude and praise through its plea for the delivery of souls.

From Washington Post