edify

[ed-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object), ed·i·fied, ed·i·fy·ing.

to instruct or benefit, especially morally or spiritually; uplift: religious paintings that edify the viewer.

Origin of edify

1300–50; Middle English edifien < Anglo-French, Old French edifier < Latin aedificāre to build, equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedes) house, temple + -ficāre -fy

Related formsed·i·fi·er, nouned·i·fy·ing·ly, adverbnon·ed·i·fied, adjectivere·ed·i·fy, verb (used with object), re·ed·i·fied, re·ed·i·fy·ing.un·ed·i·fied, adjectiveun·ed·i·fy·ing, adjective

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

Related Words for edifies

uplift, enlighten, teach, educate, improve

Examples from the Web for edifies

Contemporary Examples of edifies

So it is with South Park, which edifies as it offends—or maybe edifies because it offends.
Why Your Kids Must Watch ‘South Park’
Nick Gillespie
September 24, 2014

Historical Examples of edifies

He opens his budget and edifies us with a speech—one-half the house goes away.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7
Elbert Hubbard
To her great surprise she hears that the sister continues there, and edifies the whole community by her piety.
A Literary History of the English People
Jean Jules Jusserand
In so far as the drama uplifts and edifies the audience, it does so, not by precept or by syllogism, but by emotional suggestion.
The Theory of the Theatre
Clayton Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for edifies

edify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

(tr) to improve the morality, intellect, etc, of, esp by instruction

Derived Formsedifier, nounedifying, adjectiveedifyingly, adverb

Word Origin for edify

C14: from Old French edifier, from Latin aedificāre to construct, from aedēs a dwelling, temple + facere to make

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 edifies

edify

mid-14c., "to build, construct," also, in figurative use, "to build up morally or in faith," from Old French edefiier "build, install, teach, instruct (morally)," from Latin aedificare "to build, construct," in Late Latin "improve spiritually, instruct" (see edifice). Related: Edified; edifying.