parochial
[puh-roh-kee-uh l]
- of, relating to, or financially supported by one or more church parishes: parochial churches in Great Britain.
- of or relating to parochial schools or the education they provide.
- very limited or narrow in scope or outlook; provincial: parochial views; a parochial mentality.
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Origin of parochial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for parochial
Contemporary Examples
After years at the head of a parochial school classroom, he could no longer distinguish one blond Irish Catholic kid from another.
One enduring lesson of the Holocaust is that antisemitism is not a parochial Jewish interest.
My bias is that Congress tends to be parochial, irresponsible, and self-interested.
When I proposed calling the blog “Zion Square,” which later became “Open Zion,” some supporters said it was too parochial.
Vouchers provide public funds to parents who need help in paying tuition for private or parochial schools.
Historical Examples
He had never met with any entry affecting the parochial clergy.
Henry of Monmouth, Volume 2J. Endell Tyler
Patriotism had to be parochial; for men had no country, but only a countryside.
A Short History of EnglandG. K. Chesterton
The average incomes of the parochial clergy, meanwhile, were small.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.Leslie Stephen
Otherwise, the town's associations are chiefly provincial, not to say parochial.
The Cornwall CoastArthur L. Salmon
But I don't think we shall do any good by going into a parochial quarrel.
The Vicar of BullhamptonAnthony Trollope
parochial
- narrow in outlook or scope; provincial
- of or relating to a parish or parishes
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Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Church Latin parochiālis; see parish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for parochial
adj.
late 14c., "pertaining to a parish," from Anglo-French parochiel (late 13c.), from Old French parochial, from Late Latin parochialis "of a parish" (c.600), from parochia (see parish).
Figurative sense, "limited, narrow," as if confined to a small region, is from 1856 (also see parochialism). Parochial school is attested from 1755.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper