psalm: [OE] The Greek verb psállein originally meant ‘pluck’, but it was extended figuratively to ‘pluck harpstrings’, and hence ‘sing to the accompaniment of the harp’. From it was derived the noun psalmós ‘harp-song’, which was used in the Greek Septuagint to render Hebrew mizmōr ‘song (of the sort sung to the harp by David)’. It passed into Old English via late Latin psalmus. Another derivative of Greek psállein was psaltérion ‘stringed instrument played by plucking’, which has given English psalter [OE] and psaltery [13].
psalm (n.)
Old English psealm, salm, partly from Old French psaume, saume, partly from Church Latin psalmus, from Greek psalmos "song sung to a harp," originally "performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp" (compare psaltes "harper"), from psallein "play on a stringed instrument, pull, twitch" (see feel (v.)).
Used in Septuagint for Hebrew mizmor "song," especially the sort sung by David to the harp. Related: Psalmodize; psalmody. After some hesitation, the pedantic ps- spelling prevailed in English, as it was in many neighboring languages (German, French, etc.), but English is almost alone in not pronouncing the p-.
例文
1. He recited a verse of the twenty-third psalm .
彼は『詩編』第23編の一節を暗唱した。
2.The clergyman began droning the psalm .
牧師は単調で低沈みな口調で賛美詩を詠み始めた。
3.The minister droned out the psalm .
牧師は賛美詩をつぶやいた。
4. The clergyman began droning ( out ) the psalm .
牧師は単調で低い口調で賛美詩を詠み始めた。
5.Like the others，they lived up to the resolute sentiment of Longfellow 's " Psalm of Life ".