Agnus Dei
- noun
- /ˈæɡ.nəs ˈdeɪ.i/
- Literature
:
Agnus Dei
- During the Mass, the congregation sang the Agnus Dei as a prayer to honor Christ, the Lamb of God.
Examples
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At S. Marco, the Agnus Dei would have functioned to crown the cycle of the Trades at the same time that it related to the original tympanum mosaic of Christ risen in judgment.
Academic text (2008) -
In many Christian services, the Agnus Dei is a beloved hymn that evokes a spirit of reverence and devotion.
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At the top of the arch are two angels bearing a roundel of the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of Christ with a Greek-cross halo and a staff (Fig. 28).
Academic text (2008) -
As the choir recited the Agnus Dei, the faithful reflected on the significance of Christ's sacrifice.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Agnus + Dei
Agnus Dei is literally Latin for 'Lamb of God' (agnus = lamb; Dei = of God), so the meaning is directly compositional and would be derivable if a learner knew the constituent words. However, the constituents are Latin rather than English and are unlikely to be known by an average B1 English learner, so the phrase is compositionally transparent but may be practically inaccessible without knowledge of Latin.
Etymology
Agnus Dei is Latin for 'Lamb of God' and began as a short prayer said or sung in church. People would say it to ask Christ for mercy, so today Agnus Dei names that prayer used in the Mass.
