anthem

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

an·them [anthem anthems] BrE [ˈænθəm] NAmE [ˈænθəm] noun
1. a song that has a special importance for a country, an organization or a particular group of people, and is sung on special occasions
•The European anthem was played at the opening and closing ceremonies.
•The song could become an anthem for the classless society.
see also ↑national anthem
2. a short religious song for a ↑choir (= a group of singers), often with an organ

Word Origin:
Old English antefn, antifne (denoting a composition sung antiphonally, by two groups of people in turn), from late Latin antiphona ‘harmonies’, neuter plural of antiphōnos ‘responsive’, from anti ‘in return’ + phōnē ‘sound’. The spelling with th, which began in the 16th cent., was on the pattern of similar words such as Antony, Anthony.