ecclesia

American  

[ih-klee-zhee-uh, -zee-uh] / ɪˈkli ʒi ə, -zi ə /

noun

ecclesiae plural

1. an assembly, especially the popular assembly of ancient Athens.

2. a congregation; church.

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ecclesia British  

/ ɪˈkliːzɪə /

noun

1. (in formal Church usage) a congregation

2. the assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ecclesiae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ecclesia

1570–80; < Latin < Greek ekklēsía assembly, equivalent to ékklēt ( os ) summoned ( ek- ec- + klē-, variant of kal-, stem of kaleîn to call, + -tos past participle suffix) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

This shows us the normal organs of a Greek city, boulē, ecclesia, prytaneis, &c., in full working, with the annual election of magistrates, and ordinary forms of public action.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 2 "Hearing" to "Helmond" by Various

But while Wolsey,—that “butcher’s dogge,” as some jealous contemporary called him,—rendered much service to the Church, Cromwell, like his namesake, had a genius for destruction, and became a veritable malleus ecclesia.

From The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries To-Day and in Days of Old by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)