ecclesiastical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ecclesiastical
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at Ecclesiastes, -ical
Explanation
Anything ecclesiastical is related to the Christian church. An ecclesiastical office is the office at a church, and a nun’s habit is ecclesiastical dress. A hat with a propeller on top is not. Ecclesiastical things have to do with Christian churches or the clergy. Pews, readings from the Bible, and stained glass windows are all part of the ecclesiastical world. The ecclesiastical hierarchy is the pecking order of the clergy, and high-ranking clergy are considered to be ecclesiastical authorities. Secular is the opposite of ecclesiastical.
Vocabulary lists containing ecclesiastical
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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World Religions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The poem survives today because it was copied into certain manuscripts of Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an 8th century history written in Latin by the English monk Bede.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2026
But evidence suggested it was the "king's village" at "Rendlaesham", referred to by Bede in his book An Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2023
The Ukrainian clerics’ call for an “International Ecclesiastical Tribunal” was first reported Monday by the Religious Information Service of Ukraine.
From Washington Times • Apr. 11, 2022
Toward the end of his life, the young Pope wanted to reconcile with Otto, according to Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University.
From Time • Jan. 13, 2017
When Bede wrote a history of the church in Britain, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, he used the new calendar.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
