Etimology
From Middle English chirche, from Old English ċiriċe (“church”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, 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 *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”).
noun
church (countable and uncountable, plural churches)
(countable) A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place. [from 9th c.]
Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community; Christianity; Christendom. [from 9th c.]
(countable) A local group of people who follow the same Christian religious beliefs, local or general. [from 9th c.]
(countable) A particular denomination of Christianity. [from 9th c.]
(uncountable, countable, as bare noun) Christian worship held at a church; service. [from 10th c.]
(uncountable) Organized religion in general or a specific religion considered as a political institution.
(informal) Any religious group. [from 16th c.]
(obsolete) Assembly.
Examples
There is a lovely little church in the valley.
This building used to be a church before being converted into a library.
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.
These worshippers make up the Church of Christ.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Many young people find their only role models of family life in church.
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.
As they actively get involved in ministry, lay ministry becomes vigorous, and new believers will settle in church with more ease.
she had very many adults in church with whom she could talk about issues in life.
Ruthie had left the church disappointed , reluctant to give up the idea that she was chosen by God to become a saint . But within a month she had sinned by lying , masturbating , and coveting Sarah 130 • Beu Marshall.
The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.
Pastors complained that they were not allowed enough authority in church, with women exercising too much informal control.
Some people are always saying, "Oh, you have too much church." You never get too much church. I go to church every day.
the learned women will be qualified to lead in church with equal grace and equal insight and equal gifts.
Many constitutions enshrine the separation of church and state.
But in Muslim countries, Church and State are one indissolubly, and until the very essence of Islam passes away, that unity cannot be relaxed. The law of the land, too, is, in theory, the law of the Church.
Because the pan-Buddhist movement was heavily supported by the Japanese in Inner Mongolia, the Buddhist church, already under attack by Soviet-backed antireligion campaigns in Outer Mongolia, was further damaged […]
The secular absolutist model is based on a strict separation between church and state.
She goes to a Wiccan church down the road.
Among these, the church must investigate fundemental questions, […]
Related words
synonyms
autem (obsolete, Britain, thieves’ cant)
(building): chapel (small church), kirk (Scotland)
(group of worshipers): congregation
hypernyms
(religious group): religion
(house of worship): building
hyponyms
Anglican Church
Broad Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Byzantine Church
Catholic Church
Christian Church
Church of England
Church of Rome
Church of Scotland
Church of the East
Church Slavonic
Congregational church
Dutch Reformed Church
Eastern Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Georgian Orthodox Church
Greek Catholic Church
Greek Church
Greek Orthodox Church
High Church
Latin Church
LDS church
Low Church
Lutheran Church
Maronite Church
New Church
Oriental Church
Oriental Orthodox Church
Orthodox Catholic Church
Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
Western Church
coordinate terms
circle, fire temple, gurdwara, heiau, hof, House of Worship, jinja, mandir, monastery, mosque, pagoda, synagogue, temple
related terms
church affiliation
church bell
church crawler
church hat
church hop
church key
Church Latin
church mode
church music
church planter
church roll
church school
church service
church spire
church state
church tower
church triumphant
church year
collegiate church
verb
church (third-person singular simple present churches, present participle churching, simple past and past participle churched)
(transitive, Christianity, now historical) To conduct a religious service for (a woman after childbirth, or a newly married couple). [from 15th c.]
(transitive) To educate someone religiously, as in in a church.
Examples
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
Nor did it [the Church] accept that the woman should stay indoors until she had been churched.
interjection
church
(slang) Expressing strong agreement.
Examples
Synonym: preach
- These burritos are the best!
- Church!