introits

Noun

introit (plural introits)

1. A prayer, typically part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible, read or sung at the start of Mass while or immediately after the priest ascends to the altar.
   • The Glossary of Terms used by ecclesiastics in the middle ages, who describe a day by the “introit,” or commencement of the service appointed by the church to be performed thereon, and an explanation of the Canonical Hours, Watches, &c. will frequently be found useful.[1833, [Nicholas] Harris Nicolas, “Preface”, in Dionysius Lardner, editor, The Chronology of History. […] (The Cabinet Cyclopædia; XLIV), London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman...

   Synonyms:

   introitus

2. Any piece of choral music, especially a setting of an anthem or a psalm, sung at the opening of a church service.
3. (obsolete) The action of entering or going in; an entrance.
4. (figuratively, obsolete) An introduction.