noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A prayer invoking the Holy Spirit, especially one offered in the liturgical context of the Eucharist so as to change the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus.
2. 2
   A particular appearance or aspect of a deity. Greek, Roman

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐπίκλησις (epíklēsis, “invocation”).

Related phrases

divine liturgyholy spirit

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.