MEANING
The final service of prayers in the traditional Christian daily cycle, said before night rest.
Use it for
Monastic bedtime routines, final communal worship before darkness.Give the night a religious boundary and a last shared gathering.
Words that belong together
- say compline
- after compline
- office of compline
On the page
After compline, the monks returned to their cells.
She stayed for compline even though the road home was unlit.
The rule required silence once compline had ended.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- compline
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Distinguished from earlier evening vespers; a liturgical term, not a synonym for any bedtime prayer. Usually uncountable; no plural needed for the service name.
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