church

See also: Church

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English chirche, from Old English ċiriċe (“church”), from Proto-Germanic *kirikǭ, an early borrowing of Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón), neuter form of κυριακός (kuriakós, “belonging to the lord”), from κύριος (kúrios, “ruler, lord”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewH- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”).

additional etymological information
For vowel evolution, see bury. Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón) was used of houses of Christian worship since circa 300 AD, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “congregation”) or βασιλική (basilikḗ, “royal thing”). An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic progress of many Christian words, possibly via the Goths; it was probably used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period. Cognate with Scots kirk (“church”), West Frisian tsjerke (“church”), Saterland Frisian Säärke (“church”), Dutch kerk (“church”), German Kirche (“church”), Danish kirke (“church”), Swedish kyrka (“church”), Norwegian Bokmål kirke, Norwegian Nynorsk kyrkje (“church”), and Icelandic kirkja (“church”). Also picked up by Slavic, via Old High German chirihha (compare Old Church Slavonic црькꙑ (crĭky), Bulgarian църква (cǎrkva), Russian це́рковь (cérkovʹ)). Romance and Celtic languages use descendants of Latin ecclēsia.

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /t͡ʃɜːt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /t͡ʃɝt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃ

Noun
A church, with many architectural features traditional to such a structure.

church (countable and uncountable, plural churches)

  1. (countable) A Christian house of worship; a building where religious services take place. [from 9th c.]
    There is a lovely little church in the valley.
    This building used to be a church before being converted into a library.
    • 2007, John R. Dodd, Bucky and Friends, page 117:
      He got the message and was in church the next Sunday. We need to stay in church with the fellowship of others in order to keep the fire of faith burning brightly.
  2. Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community; Christianity. [from 9th c.]
    These worshippers make up the Church of Christ.
    • Acts 20:28, New International Version:
      Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
  3. (countable) A local group of people who follow the same Christian religious beliefs, local or general. [from 9th c.]
    • 2007, Bill Gibson, The Ultimate Church Sound Operator's Handbook, page 78:
      Many young people find their only role models of family life in church.
    • 2007, John R. Dodd, Bucky and Friends, page 117:
      He got the message and was in church the next Sunday. We need to stay in church with the fellowship of others in order to keep the fire of faith burning brightly.
    • 2008, Yil Gyoung Kang, Enhancing understanding the church through preaching on ..., page 61:
      As they actively get involved in ministry, lay ministry becomes vigorous, and new believers will settle in church with more ease.
    • 2009, Christian Smith; Patricia Snell, Souls in Transition, page 194:
      she had very many adults in church with whom she could talk about issues in life.
  4. (countable) A particular denomination of Christianity. [from 9th c.]
    The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.
  5. (uncountable, countable, as bare noun) Christian worship held at a church; service. [from 10th c.]
    • 1997, Paul Harvey, Redeeming the South: Religious Cultures and Racial Identities ..., page 119:
      Pastors complained that they were not allowed enough authority in church, with women exercising too much informal control.
    • 2000, Lee Roberson, Disturbing Questions...: Solid Answers, page 174:
      Some people are always saying, "Oh, you have too much church." You never get too much church. I go to church every day.
    • 2003, George Shillington, On a Journey with God: You Come Too, page 53:
      the learned women will be qualified to lead in church with equal grace and equal insight and equal gifts.
  6. (informal) A (non-Christian) religion; a religious group. [from 16th c.]
    • 2007, Scott A. Merriman, Religion and the Law in America‎, page 313:
      Among these, the church must investigate fundemental questions, […]
    She goes to a Wiccan church down the road.
  7. (obsolete) assembly

Usage notes

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Coordinate terms

Hyponyms
Proper noun hyponyms of church
Other hyponyms of church

Derived terms

Pages starting with "church".

Descendants

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

Verb

church (third-person singular simple present churches, present participle churching, simple past and past participle churched)

  1. (transitive, now historical) To conduct a religious service for (a woman after childbirth, or a newly married couple). [from 15thc.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter Tercium, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI:
      Thenne after this lady was delyuerd and chirched / there came a knyghte vnto her / his name was sire Bromel la pleche / the whiche was a grete lord and he hadde loued that lady longe / and he euermore desyred her to wedde her / and soo by no meane she coude putte hym of
    • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, page 36:
      Nor did it [the Church] accept that the woman should stay indoors until she had been churched.
  2. (transitive) To educate someone religiously, as in in a church.

Derived terms
  • churching of women

Translations

See also
  • Appendix:Ecclesiastical terms
selected ecclesiastical terms
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.