NYT Dictionary

INTROIT

/ˈɪnˌtɹɔɪt/
NounIN-troitin-troit · 2 syllablesAdvanced/Professional

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

A prayer, typically part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible, read or sung at the start of Mass while or immediately after the priest ascends to the altar.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English

PIE word *h₁én From Late Middle English introite (“act of entering in or into, entrance; place of entrance”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman introït, introïte (“introit”), or from its etymon Latin introitus (“act of entering in or into, entrance; passage; place of entrance; (figuratively) beginning, introduction, prelude”), from introeō (“to enter, go in”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). Introeō is derived from intrō (“to enter, go into”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”)) + eō (“to go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”)).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

introitusalleluiaansweranthemantiphoncanoncantatacanticlechantchorale

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

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