Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HYMN, n. [hym; L. hymnus; Gr. υμνος; Eng. hum.]

A song or ode in honor of God, and among pagans, in honor of some deity. A hymn among Christians is a short poem, composed for religious service, or a song of joy and praise to God. The word primarily expresses the tune, but it is used for the ode or poem. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives. Matth. xxvi. Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns. Col. iii.