Saturday, November 26, 2011

Palm Sunday

"The Sunday before Easter which introduces Holy Week. The distinctive ceremonies of the day are the blessing of the palms and, in the W[estern] Church and some E[astern] Churches, the procession, representing the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem a week before the Resurrection. . . ."

     The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd rev. ed., ed. F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (2005), s.v. "Palm Sunday," as reproduced in the e-reference edition accessed on 27 November 2011.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Martyr

"Etymology:  < post-classical Latin martyr witness, martyr (2nd–3rd cent.; used of pagan philosophers by St Jerome) < Hellenistic Greek μάρτυρ , variant of ancient Greek μαρτυρ- , μάρτυς witness (used in N.T. of witnesses for the faith who suffered martyrdom, as St Stephen at Acts 22:20). . . ."

     Oxford English dictionary, 3rd ed. (December 2000), as reproduced in the online version dated September 2011, and accessed on 15 November 2011.