magisterium

American

[maj-uh-steer-ee-uhm] / ˌmædʒ əˈstɪər i əm /

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

the authority and power of the church to teach religious truth.

magisterium British

/ ˌmædʒɪˈstɪərɪəm /

noun

the teaching authority or function of the Roman Catholic Church

"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

Etymology

Origin of magisterium

1585–95; < Latin: magistery

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.

See Examples For:

magisterium

A papal encyclical is part of a pope's "ordinary magisterium", or teaching function, meaning it is authoritative but not infallible.

From Reuters ● Jun. 14, 2015

Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City also announced the launch of a private social network for bishops only - a sort of Facebook of the magisterium.

From Reuters ● Jun. 14, 2012

“You can go back to the year 400 and see writings in the Catholic magisterium about avoiding scandal.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2010

"The church does not build its life upon its infallible magisterium alone," Ratzinger wrote, "but on the teaching of its authentic, ordinary magisterium as well."

From Time Magazine Archive

Mastery seems here used in the sense of mystery or trade, which is derived from the French mestier, and that perhaps from magisterium.

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by William Carew Hazlitt

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023