Vespers
/ˈvɛspərz/noun
An evening prayer service in Christian liturgy, especially in the canonical hours.
Did you know?Vespers is linked to Latin vesper, “evening,” and to Greek Hesperos—the name for the evening star, Venus, when it appeared after sunset.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wes-peros
“Evening; the time of sunset”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἕσπερος (hesperos)
“Evening; the evening star, Venus”
Classical Latin
Latin
vesper
“Evening; the west; the evening star”
Late Latin
Ecclesiastical Latin
vesperae
“Evening prayers or the evening canonical hour”
14th Century
Middle English
vespers
“An evening service of prayer”
Modern English
English
vespers
“A Christian evening prayer service”