Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LIT'UR-GY, n. [Fr. liturgie; Sp. and It. liturgia; Gr. λειτουργια; λειτος, public, and εργον, work.]

In a general sense, all public ceremonies that belong to divine service; hence, in a restricted sense, among the Romanists, the mass; and among Protestants, the common prayer, or the formulary of public prayers. – Johnson. Encyc.