Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Septuagesima Sunday

Septuagesima Sunday

9.9
The third Sunday before Lent when churches begin special services
  • noun
  • /ˌsɛptuˈeɪdʒɪmə ˈsʌndeɪ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : Domingo de Septuagésima
  • Before the changes to the liturgical calendar, Septuagesima Sunday marked the start of a pre-Lenten period.

Examples

  • Many churches used to observe Septuagesima Sunday with special services and hymns.

  • This year, Septuagesima Sunday falls on February 12.

  • During Septuagesima Sunday, some congregations begin a gradual preparation for Lent.

  • Many churches celebrate Septuagesima Sunday with special services.

  • Before the reforms, Septuagesima Sunday was significant as the third Sunday before Lent.

  • On Septuagesima Sunday, congregations often begin their observance of the Lenten season.

  • Traditionally, Septuagesima Sunday was celebrated in many churches with unique hymns and rituals.

Synonyms

Septuagesima
vsSeptuagesima Sunday
  • Archaic
9.9

A Sunday that begins the period before Lent in some Christian churches

notes its former observance as the start of the pre-Lenten season

Surface Forms

Septuagesima Sunday singular

Morphology

Septuagesima + Sunday

This is a straightforward calendrical naming pattern: a liturgical label ('Septuagesima') combined with the weekday ('Sunday'), so a learner who knows that 'Septuagesima' marks the start of the pre-Lenten season and knows 'Sunday' will infer it denotes that particular Sunday. Although 'Septuagesima' is a specialized term, the compound follows the common and predictable X + Sunday pattern found across languages, making the overall meaning directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Septuagesima Sunday comes from the Latin word septuagesima, meaning 'seventieth', because people counted roughly seventy days before Easter. So Septuagesima Sunday came to mean the Sunday that marks the start of the church's short 'pre-Lent' period.