ecclesiastic

[ih-klee-zee-as-tik]

See more synonyms for ecclesiastic on Thesaurus.com

noun

a member of the clergy or other person in religious orders.
a member of the ecclesia in ancient Athens.

adjective

ecclesiastical.

Origin of ecclesiastic

1475–85; < Late Latin ecclēsiasticus < Greek ekklēsiastikós. See Ecclesiastes, -ic

Related formsan·ti·ec·cle·si·as·tic, noun, adjectivenon·ec·cle·si·as·tic, adjective, nounun·ec·cle·si·as·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ecclesiastic

cleric, pastor, preacher, priest, minister, abbot, prelate, divine, chaplain, parson, reverend

Examples from the Web for ecclesiastic

Historical Examples of ecclesiastic

Is it your intention to condemn my son to be an ecclesiastic?
The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete
Madame La Marquise De Montespan
He is a diplomatist, an ecclesiastic, an embodiment of all that is severe and archaic in authority.
Italy, the Magic Land
Lilian Whiting
That painted window's said to be the oldest of any, not ecclesiastic, in Europe.
Nell, of Shorne Mills
Charles Garvice
My reputation then was blasted by the industry of this ecclesiastic.
The Autobiography of Madame Guyon
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon
By the side of this ecclesiastic, his Wolsley is, so to speak, nowhere.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, February 18, 1893
Various

British Dictionary definitions for ecclesiastic

ecclesiastic

noun

a clergyman or other person in holy orders

adjective

of or associated with the Christian Church or clergy

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 ecclesiastic

adj.

late 15c., from Middle French ecclésiastique and directly from Late Latin ecclesiasticus, from Greek ekklesiastikos "of the (ancient Athenian) assembly," later, "of the church," from ekklesiastes "speaker in an assembly or church, preacher," from ekkalein "to call out," from ek "out" (see ex-) + kalein "to call" (see claim (v.)).