pericope
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pericope
1650–60; < Late Latin pericopē section < Greek perikopḗ a cutting, equivalent to peri- peri- + kopḗ a cutting
Explanation
A pericope is a short passage from a book, like the pericopes that are sometimes read aloud during a wedding ceremony. The Greek root of pericope is perikopē, which literally means "a cutting all around." In ancient Greece, the word was used to describe a bit of any book that was "cut out" or excerpted from the larger text, but it's come to refer mainly to Bible passages selected to read on special occasions, like weddings and funerals. Be careful not to confuse pericope with periscope!
Vocabulary lists containing pericope
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.
I find it suggested that perhaps the subject-matter may sufficiently account for all that has happened to the pericope de adultera: And so it may, no doubt.
From The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Miller, Edward
But it is equally certain that this pericope is an interpolation where it stands.
From Essays on the work entitled "Supernatural Religion" by Lightfoot, Joseph Barber
This is the date adopted by the Bollandists, because the ancient missals mark the pericope, Matt. x., for the gospel of this day.
From Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Houghton, Louise Seymour
In all four the pericope adulterae follows Luke xxi.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
The pericope is observed to stand in situ in Codd. b c e ff2 g h j.
From The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Miller, Edward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
