congregation
[kong-gri-gey-shuh n]
- an assembly of persons brought together for common religious worship.
- the act of congregating or the state of being congregated.
- a gathered or assembled body; assemblage.
- an organization formed for the purpose of providing for worship of God, for religious education, and for other church activities; a local church society.
- the people of Israel. Ex. 12:3,6; Lev. 4:13.
- New Testament. the Christian church in general.
- Roman Catholic Church.
- a committee of cardinals or other ecclesiastics.
- a community of men or women, either with or without vows, observing a common rule.
- (at English universities) the general assembly of the doctors, fellows, etc.
- (in colonial North America) a parish, town, plantation, or other settlement.
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Origin of congregation
1300–50; Middle English congregacio(u)n (< Anglo-French) < Latin congregātiōn- (stem of congregātiō); see congregate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for congregation
Contemporary Examples
The congregation was warm, friendly, and welcoming—traits, he says, he later came to believe they used to coax members in.
One woman, BB, is a former pastor who was outed to her congregation before she could even tell her loved ones.
Members of the congregation will join in hymns during the performance.
I asked a question once, from the top lay-member of our congregation in Greenhaven.
The New York Board of Rabbis would send in cases of macaroons for the congregation at every Passover.
Historical Examples
I received no answer, and then I turned to the congregation.
She has many judicious helpers in her father's congregation.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
In this instance it was hard to say which was the more surprised, the revivalist or the congregation.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
And presently his surprise was reflected by the congregation.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
The nave of the church is now filled with seats for the use of the congregation.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
congregation
- a group of persons gathered for worship, prayer, etc, esp in a church or chapel
- the act of congregating or collecting together
- a group of people, objects, etc, collected together; assemblage
- the group of persons habitually attending a given church, chapel, etc
- RC Church
- a society of persons who follow a common rule of life but who are bound only by simple vows
- Also called: dicasteryan administrative subdivision of the papal curia
- an administrative committee of bishops for arranging the business of a general council
- mainly British an assembly of senior members of a university
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for congregation
n.
mid-14c., "a gathering, assembly," from Old French congregacion (12c., Modern French congrégation), from Latin congregationem (nominative congregatio), noun of action from congregare (see congregate).
Used by Tyndale to translate Greek ekklesia in New Testament and by some Old Testament translators in place of synagoge. (Vulgate uses a variety of words in these cases, including congregatio but also ecclesia, vulgus, synagoga, populus.) Protestant reformers in 16c. used it in place of church; hence the word's main modern sense of "local society of believers" (1520s).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper