pulpit

[pool-pit, puhl-]

noun

1. a platform or raised structure in a church, from which the sermon is delivered or the service is conducted.

2. the pulpit,

   1. the clerical profession; the ministry.

   2. members of the clergy collectively.

      In attendance were representatives of medicine, the pulpit, and the bar.

3. (especially in Protestantism and Judaism) the position of pastor or rabbi.

   He heard of a pulpit in Chicago that was about to be vacated.

4. the work of a preacher; preaching.

5. bully pulpit.

6. (in small craft)

   1. a safety rail rising about 18 to 30 inches (48 to 76 centimeters) from the deck near the bow and extending around it.

   2. a similar rail at the stern.

7. a control booth in a factory, usually elevated and glass-enclosed, from which an operator can observe and direct the manufacturing process.

pulpit

/ ˈpʊlpɪt /

noun

1. a raised platform, usually surrounded by a barrier, set up in churches as the appointed place for preaching, leading in prayer, etc

2. any similar raised structure, such as a lectern

3. a medium for expressing an opinion, such as a column in a newspaper

4. 1. the preaching of the Christian message

   2. the clergy or their message and influence

Other Word Forms

• pulpital adjective
• pulpitless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulpit¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Anglo-Norman pulpit, pulputte, French, Middle French pulpite, from Latin pulpitum “platform, scaffold, stage,” and also in Late Latin “pulpit”

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulpit¹

C14: from Latin pulpitum a platform

Example Sentences

On a Saturday evening in 1838, a young Illinois state legislator ascended the pulpit of his hometown Baptist church to deliver a lecture before the Springfield Young Men’s Lyceum.

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Railroad magnate and speculator Jay Gould was dubbed “the Mephistopheles of Wall Street” by ministers on the pulpit.

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“I don’t fault you for that … but you do have a weapon — it’s a bully pulpit.”

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In this instance, the Justice Department said the ban unconstitutionally prohibited nonprofit organizations from engaging in political speech and that religious leaders should be able to endorse political candidates from the pulpit.

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A week earlier, the Internal Revenue Service decided to allow religious leaders to endorse political candidates from the pulpit, effectively upending a provision in decades-old tax law barring such activity.

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Related Words

• lectern 
• podium