Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The song of the Virgin Mary, Luke i. 46; -- so called because it commences with this word in the Vulgate. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia MAGNIFICAT mag-nif'-i-kat: The name given to the hymn of Mary in Luke 1:46-55, commencing "My soul doth magnify the Lord." Three old Latin manuscripts substitute the name "Elisabeth" for "Mary" in 1:46, but against this is the authority of all Greek manuscripts and other Latin versions. The hymn, modeled in part on that of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1;, is peculiarly suitable to the circumstances of Mary, and plainly could not have been composed after the actual appearance and resurrection of Christ. Its early date is thus manifest.