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Glite Dictionary
🍞 Part of service 💰 Offering money
offertory

offertory

1 9.4
Money or gifts given by people in a church during a service
  • noun
  • /ˈɔːfərˌtɔːri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ofrenda
  • The priest was recently ordained (seminary in Hales Corner, WI), and it was his idea to have a teenager in a leotard at the offertory.

Examples

  • The congregation generously donated during the offertory to support local charities.

  • Each week, the church collects donations in the offertory to help the less fortunate.

  • During the Sunday service, the pastor reminded everyone to bring their contributions for the offertory.

Synonyms

offering
vsoffertory
54 3.7

A gift given to a church or charity

is the specific collection made from the congregation during a religious service
oblation
vsoffertory
1 9.9

Things given to a church or charity to help others

refers to the tangible gifts collected during worship rather than the act

How Generous

offertory
  • Specialized
1 9.4
collection
759 1.4

Surface Forms

offertory singular
offertories plural

Morphology

offertory = offer (transparent) = offer + tory

The sense 'the offerings collected' is directly derived from 'offer' (things offered), so learners knowing 'offer/offering' can reasonably infer this meaning.

Etymology

The word offertory comes from the Latin offerre 'to offer' and shares the root with the simple word offer; it first meant the gifts brought during a service. So today offertory usually means the money or other gifts the congregation gives at church.