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diocese

[dahy-uh-sis, -seez, -sees]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diocese ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.

Origin of diocese

1300–50; Middle English diocise, diocese < Anglo-French < Late Latin diocēsis, variant of Late Latin, Latin dioecēsis, < Greek dioíkēsis housekeeping, administration, province, diocese, equivalent to dioikē-, variant stem of dioikeîn to keep house, administer, govern (di- di-³ + oikeîn to dwell, occupy, manage, derivative of oîkos house) + -sis -sis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for diocese

district, bishopric, jurisdiction, see, benefice, prelacy, episcopate

Examples from the Web for diocese

Contemporary Examples of diocese

Father Taraborelli is a trained exorcist for the Rome diocese, and his work schedule is very busy.
Vatican and Pope Francis Seek New Demon Exorcists
Barbie Latza Nadeau
January 8, 2014
His predecessor had just banned three priests in his diocese from public ministry.
Donald Wuerl: America’s Candidate for Pope?
Christopher Dickey
March 10, 2013
More than $600,000 has been paid in lawsuits to victims in the Los Angeles diocese.
Should Sex-Abuse-Scandal Cardinals Be Allowed to Vote for New Pope?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
February 21, 2013
In addition, diocese officials found bizarre sex toys in Wallin's residence, the sources said.
Meth in a "Female" Priest's Rectory?
Ilana Glazer
January 18, 2013
Anyone who crossed the wrong cardinals in Rome risked being sent to oversee the troubled American diocese.
VatiLeaks Exposes Internal Memos of the Catholic Church
Barbie Latza Nadeau
May 24, 2012

Historical Examples of diocese

Here the clergy of the diocese may come and consult the volumes.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various
The bishop of the diocese thought it worth while to protest.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume I
Mrs. Humphry Ward
It so happened that the Bishop of Poitiers was in his diocese at the time.
The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete
Madame La Marquise De Montespan
Here was a young man, from Heaven knows where, bent on entering the diocese.
The Christian
Hall Caine
Well, I 'd not object to the Episcopate if there was some good shooting in the diocese.
Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume II.
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for diocese

diocese

noun

the district under the jurisdiction of a bishop

Word Origin for diocese

C14: from Old French, from Late Latin diocēsis, from Greek dioikēsis administration, from dioikein to manage a household, from oikos house

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 diocese

n.

early 14c., from Old French diocese (13c., Modern French diocèse), from Late Latin diocesis "a governor's jurisdiction," later, "a bishop's jurisdiction," from Greek dioikesis "government, administration; province," originally "economy, housekeeping," from dioikein "control, govern, administer, manage a house," from dia- "thoroughly" (see dia-) + oikos "house" (see villa).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper