psalm

The word 'psalm' has a direct lineage from ancient musical practice to sacred text. It derives from the Greek verb 'psallein', which literally meant to pull, pluck, or twang, specifically referring to the action of playing a harp or lyre. This evolved into the noun 'psalmos', denoting a song accompanied by such an instrument. Adopted into Latin and later into English through Christian liturgical use, the term became exclusively attached to the sacred hymns of the Hebrew Bible, particularly those in the Book of Psalms, shifting from a general term for instrumental music to a specific one for divinely inspired song.

The word is a simplex loanword. It originates from the Greek word 'psalmos', meaning "a song sung to a harp," which itself came from 'psallein', meaning "to pluck, play a stringed instrument." The Greek term was adopted into Latin as 'psalmus' and then into Old English as 'sealm' or 'psalm', via ecclesiastical Latin.