miserere
Definitions
name
The 51st Psalm (50th in the older Greek and Latin numbering), beginning “Have mercy upon me, O God …” in the King James Version; sometimes set to music.
One of the most impressive ceremonies of Holy Week is the chanting of the Miserere.
When someone did want to designate a short interval, the usual phrasing drew on religious vocabulary, calling up the duration of common prayers: the Paternoster, the Ave Maria, and the Miserere.
name
Alternative letter-case form of Miserere (“the 51st/50th Psalm”).
The miserere, that is to say, have mercy on us, is a psalm, composed of stanzas, which are sung alternately in a very different manner.
noun
An expression of lamentation or complaint.
A medieval dagger, used for the mercy stroke to a wounded foe; misericord.
A small projecting boss or bracket on the underside of the hinged seat of a church stall, intended to give some support to a standing worshipper when the seat is turned up; a misericord.
Ileus.