'Hymn' definitions:

Definition of 'hymn'

noun

A song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation) [syn: hymn, anthem]

verb

Sing a hymn

verb

Praise by singing a hymn; "They hymned their love of God"

From: GCIDE

From: GCIDE

Hymn \Hymn\ (h[i^]m), n. [OE. hympne, ympne, F. hymne, OF. also ymne, L. hymnus, Gr. ?; perh. akin to ? web, ? to weave, and so to E. weave.] An ode or song of praise or adoration; especially, a religious ode, a sacred lyric; a song of praise or thanksgiving intended to be used in religious service; as, the Homeric hymns; Watts' hymns. [1913 Webster]
Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns. --Col. iii. 16. [1913 Webster]
Where angels first should practice hymns, and string Their tuneful harps. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
Hymn book, a book containing a collection of hymns, as for use in churches; a hymnal. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Hymn \Hymn\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hymned; p. pr. & vb. n. Hymning.] [Cf. L. hymnire, Gr. ?.] To praise in song; to worship or extol by singing hymns; to sing. [1913 Webster]
To hymn the bright of the Lord. --Keble. [1913 Webster]
Their praise is hymned by loftier harps than mine. --Byron. [1913 Webster]

Hymn occurs only Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16. The verb to "sing an hymn" occurs Matt. 26:30 and Mark 14:26. The same Greek word is rendered to "sing praises" Acts 16:25 (R.V., "sing hymns") and Heb. 2:12. The "hymn" which our Lord sang with his disciples at the last Supper is generally supposed to have been the latter part of the Hallel, comprehending Ps. 113-118. It was thus a name given to a number of psalms taken together and forming a devotional exercise.
The noun hymn is used only with reference to the services of the Greeks, and was distinguished from the psalm. The Greek tunes required Greek hymns. Our information regarding the hymnology of the early Christians is very limited.