psalm

Relatinized form of older Salm (now an informal doublet meaning “lengthy talk”), from Middle High German salm(e), from Old High German salmo, from Latin psalmus, which see for more. The spelling ps- is occasionally attested also in Old and Middle High German, though this need not reflect an according pronunciation. The form was spread chiefly through Luther’s Bible. Dialectally, the pronunciation /ps/ has widely established itself in Upper German, where that onset is common through reduction of