ave maria
NounSynonyms:
Hail Mary
Open English WordNet
Word of the day · Oct 18About this word
kindleverb
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
A′ve Ma·ri′a (…), A′ve Ma′ry (…).
Origin: From the first words of the Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary; L. ave hail, Maria Mary.
1. A salutation and prayer to the Virgin Mary, as mother of God; — used in the Roman Catholic church.
To number Ave Maries on his beads.— William Shakespeare
2. A particular time (as in Italy, at the ringing of the bells about half an hour after sunset, and also at early dawn), when the people repeat the Ave Maria.
Ave Maria ! blessed be the hour !— George Noel Gordon, Ld. Byron
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54