prayer service
8
3.0
- noun
- /ˈprɛər ˈsɜrvɪs/
:
servicio de oración
- Every Friday evening, our church hosts a prayer service where we sing hymns and share our hopes.
- Jewish prayer service
- held a special prayer service
- leading the prayer service
I mean Sunday school in the morning, church in the afternoon, Bible school at night, prayer service, Wednesday night choir practice.
- I mean Sunday school in the morning, church in the afternoon, Bible school at night, prayer service, Wednesday night choir practice.
Examples
-
I was told that I could either have my class as usual or join the prayer service.
Blog text (16) -
Several had life histories that included many years of leading community prayer services and other religious activities.
Academic text (1995) -
The two other Women of the Wall members were arrested this morning at a separate prayer service.
Blog text (22) -
And the adults, they have a prayer service.
-
Please join our Tuesday night prayer service at 9 PM EST as we cry out to the Lord for America.
Blog text (22) -
Jake, will you ask pastor Tinsley to start this morning's prayer service?
-
The state monitored prayer services at the Moscow Choral Synagogue in several ways.
Academic text (2001) -
Before moving to Scottsdale, I usually attended Friday congregational prayer services at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe, Arizona.
Academic text (2008) -
On 15 June 1986, 189 people were detained at a prayer service at St Nicholas Anglican Church in Elsies River.
Academic text (1990) -
The critical moment came in Leipzig, where on Monday, 9 October, people poured out into the streets after prayer services in seven churches, were joined by masses of others, and their numbers swelled to 60,000.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
367
4.2
A religious meeting for public worship, often in a church
305
1.0
A religious service for Christians
26
8.9
A planned public worship service with fixed prayers and actions
19
2.1
A meeting in a church where people pray, sing, and listen to a talk
12
3.5
A short religious service often held at a school
7
2.8
A time when people gather to pray and sing together often in a church
5
2.8
A public event where people pray, sing, and listen in a church or temple
1
4.5
A short religious meeting in a small church with prayers and songs
1
7.4
A public ceremony in a church where people pray and sing
How Solemn
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound simply combines 'prayer' (communication with a deity) with 'service' (a religious ceremony), so the meaning 'a religious gathering for prayer' is directly predictable from the parts. This modifier+head noun pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Prayer service joins prayer (speaking to God) and service (a formal church meeting). It gives the simple image of people meeting at a set time to pray and sing, so it means 'a religious gathering to pray and often sing hymns'.