psalm Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun one of the 150 lyrical poems and prayers that comprise the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament; said to have been written by David
  2. noun any sacred song used to praise the deity
  3. verb sing or celebrate in psalms
    • He psalms the works of God

WordNet

Psalm noun
Etymology
OE. psalm, salm, AS. sealm, L. psalmus, psalma, fr. Gr. , , fr. to pull, twitch, to play upon a stringed instrument, to sing to the harp: cf. OF. psalme, salme, F. psaume.
Definitions
  1. A sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God.
    Humus devout and holy psalms Singing everlastingly. Milton.
  2. Especially, one of the hymns by David and others, collected into one book of the Old Testament, or a modern metrical version of such a hymn for public worship.
Psalm transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To extol in psalms; to sing; as, psalming his praises. Sylvester.

Webster 1913