Psalm
/sɑːm/noun
A sacred song or hymn, especially one from the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
Did you know?Psalm comes from Greek psalmós, a word tied to plucking strings, because early sacred songs were imagined as music literally pulled from an instrument.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰel-
“to strike, beat, or sound”
Ancient Greek
Greek
psállein (ψάλλειν)
“to pluck, twitch, or play a stringed instrument”
Ancient Greek
Greek
psalmós (ψαλμός)
“a plucking; a song sung to a harp or lyre”
Late Latin
Latin
psalmus
“a psalm, sacred song”
Old English
English
sealm
“a psalm or sacred song”
Modern English
English
psalm
“a sacred song or hymn, especially one from the Book of Psalms”