mother church

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noun

a church from which other churches have had their origin or derived their authority.

a cathedral or a metropolitan church.

the church attended in one's youth or for the greater part of one's life.

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Nearby words

mothball, mothballs, mother, mother carey's chicken, mother cell, mother church, mother city, mother country, mother cyst, mother earth, mother figure

Origin of mother church

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325

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

Examples from the Web for mother church

And how could he explain the yearning of his heart for the great heart of the Mother-church?
Audrey Craven|May Sinclair
We hold no Mother-Church, on which all other Churches should depend.
A Vindication of the Presbyteriall-Government and Ministry|Ministers and Elders of the London Provinciall Assembly
St. Martin's has, on that account, been often spoken of as the mother-church of England.
Notes and Queries, Number 59, December 14, 1850|Various
In her foragings and depredations she usually puts forward the Mother-Church—a lay figure—and hides behind it.
Christian Science|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

In 1294 the Florentines determined to rebuild their mother-church upon a scale of unexampled grandeur.
Renaissance in Italy Vol. 3|John Addington Symonds