adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- nondiocesan adjective
Etymology
Origin of diocesan
1400–50; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin dioecēsānus. See diocese, -an
Explanation
Anything diocesan relates to a diocese, which is an area that a senior Catholic priest is in charge of. You might see it in phrases like “diocesan newspapers,” “diocesan policies,” or “diocesan officials.” If you hear this word rather than see it, its relationship to its root (diocese) may not be obvious because of the shift in stress. Diocesan is simply the adjective of diocese, the territorial jurisdiction of a Catholic bishop. The immediate root is from a Latin word for an “administrative division,” and that meaning is still important. All diocesan affairs relate to how the diocese is organized and run by Catholic officials and clergy under the bishop.
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.
When the state Justices originally denied the unemployment tax exemption to a diocesan Catholic Charities Bureau and its associated groups, the 4-3 majority called their activities “secular in nature.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
McQuaide grew up near Green Township and attended Cincinnati Elder High, an all-male Catholic diocesan school within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati founded in 1912.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025
The first involves creating an independent central safeguarding team for the Church - but with diocesan and cathedral safeguarding officers continuing in the same roles.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2025
It also said: “Rosenberg was not accused of stealing money from any diocesan entities nor did his crimes relate to any official role held within the diocese.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2024
Article 3 The Association canonically erected in each diocese is governed, according to its own laws and usages, by diocesan directors, appointed by their respective bishops, but under the authority of one director general.
From The Manifestation of the Miraculous Medal A Brief Account of Its History and of the Establishment of the Association by Anonymous
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.
