catholic
See also: Catholic
English
Etymology
From Old French catholique, from Latin catholicus, from Ancient Greek καθολικός (katholikós), from κατά (katá, “according to”) + ὅλος (hólos, “whole”)
Pronunciation
Adjective
catholic (comparative more catholic, superlative most catholic)
- Universal; all-encompassing.
- 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29:
- Essentially, and in idea, the empire, in the minds of the Romans, was world-wide. This conception descended to the Church, which was ‘Catholic’ in spite of Buddhists, Confucians, and (later) Muhammadans.
- 1995, Brian D. Crandall & Peter W. Stahl, Human Digestive Effects on a Micromammalian Skeleton, Journal of Archaeological Science (1995) 22, 789-797:
- This semifossorial mammal tends to reside in areas with herbaceous cover, frequenting runways in the upper soil horizons where it feeds on a highly catholic diet of animal and plant materials […]
- 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29:
- Pertaining to all kinds of people and their range of tastes, proclivities etc.; liberal.
- 2003, Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press. p.72:
- He was omnivorous in his appetite for knowledge, quite catholic in his range of interests […]
- 2003, Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press. p.72:
- Alternative letter-case form of Catholic
Synonyms
- (universal): universal; see also Thesaurus:generic or Thesaurus:comprehensive
- (pertaining to all kinds): eclectic; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous
Anagrams
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