preach
[ preech ]
/ pritʃ /
verb (used with object)
to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
to deliver (a sermon).
to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
verb (used without object)
to deliver a sermon.
to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.
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Nearby words
Origin of preach
1175–1225; Middle English prechen < Old French pre(ë)chier < Late Latin praedicāre to preach (Latin: to assert publicly, proclaim). See predicate
SYNONYMS FOR preach
Related formsout·preach, verb (used with object)un·preached, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for preach
British Dictionary definitions for preach
preach
/ (priːtʃ) /
verb
to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)
to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way
Derived Formspreachable, adjective
Word Origin for preach
C13: from Old French prechier, from Church Latin praedicāre, from Latin: to proclaim in public; see predicate
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 preach
preach
at first in late Old English predician, a loan word from Church Latin; reborrowed 12c. as preachen, from Old French preechier "to preach, give a sermon" (11c., Modern French précher), from Late Latin praedicare "to proclaim publicly, announce" (in Medieval Latin "to preach"), from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + dicare "to proclaim, to say" (see diction). Related: Preached; preaching. To preach to the converted is recorded from 1867 (form preach to the choir attested from 1979).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with preach
preach
In addition to the idiom beginning with preach
- preach to the converted
also see:
- practice what you preach
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.