parish

American  

[par-ish] / ˈpær ɪʃ /

noun

• parishes
  plural

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

2. a local church with its field of activity.

3. (in Louisiana) a county.

4. the people of an ecclesiastical or civil parish.

5. Curling. house.

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idioms

1. on the parish,

   1. receiving charity from local authorities.

   2. Informal. meagerly or inadequately supplied.

parish British  

/ ˈpærɪʃ /

noun

1. a subdivision of a diocese, having its own church and a clergyman

2. the churchgoers of such a subdivision

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

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

5. the people living in a parish

6. history receiving parochial relief

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interparish
  adjective
• transparish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parishes
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

A parish is a local church community that has one main church and one pastor. Parish members do more than just attend church. They organize community activities, social events, and — very important — coffee and donuts on Sunday mornings. A parish is technically a piece of land. It’s a section of a diocese that has the right number of churchgoers to have its own church. But when you refer to a parish, you’re usually talking about more than the space itself. You're describing the people who attend the church, as well as the church property. So if someone says, "Our parish is thriving," it means there's a full congregation and enough funds to maintain the church in good condition.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parish parishes

Our parish lived and practiced American Catholicism’s long tradition of welcoming the stranger, the outcast, the refugee — following the example and words of the Gospel we read every Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

"If I had one dream," he says, "it's to bring our youth back to our parish."

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

"We hope this place will bear the fruits of a deeper return to faith, or at least help people deepen their faith," said the parish priest Marek Mrowczynski.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

If you’re there for the regatta, look out for an appearance from the parish priest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

A priest I once heard in a white middle-class parish defended the reformed liturgy by saying that it had become necessary to ‘de-Europeanize’ the Roman Catholic Church.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Gross and De Petro say churches across the country have reached out about speaking to their parishes to inspire more young people to attend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

The Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic parishes in Colorado and two parents, Dan and Lisa Sheley, filed suit, but lost in lower courts, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.

From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026

St Ives was the first, and by 2021 a further 16 parishes in Cornwall introduced similar policies.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

More than one-third of Louisiana’s parishes lack a single obstetrician—gynecologist, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

By June he would be ready to accept a call to one of the small parishes springing up to the south and west of Wethersfield.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Related Words

• church