homily

[ hom-uh-lee ]
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noun,plural hom·i·lies.
  1. a sermon, usually on a Biblical topic and usually of a nondoctrinal nature.

  2. an admonitory or moralizing discourse.

  1. an inspirational saying or cliché.

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Origin of homily

1
1545–55; <Late Latin homīlia<Greek homīlía assembly, sermon, equivalent to hómīl(os) crowd (hom() together + -īlos, masculine combining form of ī́lē (feminine) crowd) + -ia-y3; replacing Middle English omelie<Middle French <Latin, as above

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British Dictionary definitions for homily

homily

/ (ˈhɒmɪlɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. a sermon or discourse on a moral or religious topic

  2. moralizing talk or writing

Origin of homily

1
C14: from Church Latin homīlia, from Greek: discourse, from homilein to converse with, from homilos crowd, from homou together + ilē crowd

Derived forms of homily

  • homilist, noun

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