A short line or sentence, usually from the Bible, sung or recited before and after a psalm or canticle in church services.
From Late Latin antiphona, from Greek anti- (opposite, against) + phone (sound, voice). The term referred to responsorial singing where one group answers another, creating opposite/alternating sounds.
An antiphon is literally a 'sound against sound'—in medieval churches, choirs would split into two groups singing opposite sides of the church, creating surround-sound effects centuries before technology.
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