Lately I have noticed that journalists think that "litany" is a fancier word for "list", or perhaps means "long list". In today's newspaper, one writes that the failure of Rudolph Giuliani's bankruptcy filing exposes him to a litany of creditors. I wonder how anyone so understanding "litany" came to hear of the word in the first place.
It is true that some litanies are built on lists: of divine or Marian titles, of saints, of sins to be protected against. But the list as such is not a litany, without the response from the congregation, say "Have mercy on us" or "Pray for us". The word derives from the Greek "litaino" or "litaneuo", beseech or request.
Excellent point. Orwell knew best - avoid the fancier words, he said, more or less. ZMKC
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