parish

[par-ish]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parish ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an ecclesiastical district having its own church and member of the clergy.

a local church with its field of activity.

(in Louisiana) a county.

the people of an ecclesiastical or civil parish.

Curling. house(def 20).

Idioms

on the parish, British.

receiving charity from local authorities.
Informal.meagerly or inadequately supplied.

Origin of parish

1250–1300; Middle English, variant of parosshe < Middle French paroisse < Late Latin parochia, alteration of paroecia < Late Greek paroikía, derivative of Greek pároikos neighbor, (in Christian usage) sojourner (see paroicous); see -ia

Related formsin·ter·par·ish, adjectivetrans·par·ish, adjective

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

Related Words for parish

church, community, fold, flock, territory, bethel, archdiocese, churchgoers, parishioners

Examples from the Web for parish

Contemporary Examples of parish

Church bells pealed from St. Catherine of Siena parish one block away.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise
Jason Berry
January 3, 2015
According to Wahlberg, his time in prison, as well as the guidance of a parish priest, helped him turn his life around.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pardon Plea: A Look Back At His Troubling, Violent, and Racist Rap Sheet
Marlow Stern
December 7, 2014
Despite the multiple warnings, Bishop Finn chose to leave Ratigan in place in the parish.
Will the Vatican Finally Hold This Kansas City Bishop Accountable?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
October 2, 2014
The parish priest Father Michele Iacono, dressed in purple vestments, blessed the bodies and performed last rights en masse.
Italy: Migrants Dying en Masse
Barbie Latza Nadeau
July 7, 2014
His first gig was with a drum-and-bugle corps put together by the parish priest.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou
John Ed Bradley
April 27, 2014

Historical Examples of parish

His eyes were black an' his hair was red an' his voice like the parish bull.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
It had been the dear pet plan they had nursed in common with all the parish.
Quaint Courtships
Various
The nave, then as now, was the charge of the parish; the chancel, of the rector.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge
James Nayler was born in the parish of Ardesley, in Yorkshire, 1616.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
And so this wench is to stock the parish with beauties, I hope.
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2
Henry Fielding

British Dictionary definitions for parish

parish

noun

a subdivision of a diocese, having its own church and a clergymanRelated adjective: parochial

the churchgoers of such a subdivision

(in England and, formerly, Wales) the smallest unit of local government in rural areas

(in Louisiana) a unit of local government corresponding to a county in other states of the US

the people living in a parish

on the parish history receiving parochial relief

Word Origin for parish

C13: from Old French paroisse, from Church Latin parochia, from Late Greek paroikia, from paroikos Christian, sojourner, from Greek: neighbour, from para- 1 (beside) + oikos house

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 parish

c.1300, "district with its own church; members of such a church," from Anglo-French paroche, parosse (late 11c.), Old French paroisse, from Late Latin parochia "a diocese," alteration of Late Greek paroikia "a diocese or parish," from paroikos "a sojourner" (in Christian writers), in classical Greek, "neighbor," from para- "near" (see para- (1)) + oikos "house" (see villa).

Sense development unclear, perhaps from "sojourner" as epithet of early Christians as spiritual sojourners in the material world. In early Church writing the word was used in a more general sense than Greek diokesis, though by 13c. they were synonymous. Replaced Old English preostscyr, literally "priest-shire."