Hymn
c.1000, from O.Fr. ymne and O.E. ymen, both from L. hymnus "song of praise," from Gk. hymnos "song or ode in praise of gods or heroes," used in Septuagint for various Heb. words meaning "song praising God." Possibly a var. of hymenaios "wedding song," from Hymen, Gk. god of marriage (see hymen). Evidence for the silent -n- dates from at least 1530.
Etymology Dictionary
Hymen
1615, from Fr. hymen (16c.), ult. from Gk. hymen "virginal membrane, thin skin." Originally any membrane; present specific meaning begins with Vesalius, 1550. Hymeneal "wedding hymn" is 1717, from L. hymenaeus, from Gk. hymenaios "belonging to wedlock, wedding, wedding song," from Hymen, Gk. god of marriage, represented as a youth carrying a torch and a veil.
Etymology Dictionary
Hymeneal
There is an ancient Greeek legend of a youth of such delicate beauty that he might have been taken for a maid. His name was
Hymen or
Hymenaeus. The girl with whom he fell in love spurned him, but in the disguise of a girl he followed her into the country to a festival. On the way he and all the real maidens in the gathering were carried off by a group of brigands to a foreign shore. But upon landing, the weary robbers fell asleep, wehreupon Hymen, throwing off his disguise, seized a weapon and slew all of them. Then, leaving the maidens, he returned to Athens. There he got the promise of the citizens that his own beloved should be given to him in marriage if he were to bring the maidens back to Athens. The request was granted gladly, and he soon restored the girls safely to their homes. From that time onward Hymen was praised in the bridal or marriage songs of the nation, thenceforward described as
hymeneal songs in honor of his exploit.
"Thereby Hangs a Tale", Charles Earle Funk, page 150-151, c. 1950
In Greek mythology, Hymenaios (also Hymenaeus, Hymenaues, or Hymen; Ancient Greek: ὙμÎναιος) was a god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song. A hymenaios is also a genre of Greek lyric poetry sung during the procession of the bride to the groom's house in which the god is addressed, in contrast to the Epithalamium, which was sung at the nuptial threshold.
Hymenaios was supposed to attend every wedding. If he didn't, then the marriage would supposedly prove disastrous, so the Greeks would run about calling his name aloud. He presided over many of the weddings in Greek mythology, for all the deities and their children.
Hymenaios was celebrated in the ancient marriage song of unknown origin Hymen o Hymenae, Hymen delivered by G. Valerius Catullus. Both the term hymn and hymen are derived from this celebration.
Source
"Let us turn in our hymnals......"