diocese
pronunciation
How to pronounce diocese in British English:
UK [ˈdaɪəsɪs]
How to pronounce diocese in American English:
US [ˈdaɪəsɪs, -ˌsis, -ˌsiz]
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- Noun:
- the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop
Word Origin
- diocese
- diocese: [14] Etymologically, diocese means ‘administration’, and only gradually did the word become more concrete and specific, via ‘area administered, province’ to ‘ecclesiastical province’. It comes ultimately from Greek dioíkēsis, a derivative of dioikein ‘keep house’, hence ‘administer’; this was a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix dia- and oikein ‘inhabit’, which in turn was a derivative of oikos ‘house’ (a distant relative of the -wich, -wick ending in some British place-names).Its ecclesiastical meaning developed in Greek, and came to the fore as the word passed via Latin dioecēsis and late Latin diocēsis into Old French diocise (source of English diocese). In English that has always been the only living sense of the word, although it has been used in historical contexts to refer to provinces of the Roman empire.
- diocese (n.)
- early 14c., from Old French diocese (13c., Modern French diocèse), from Late Latin diocesis "a governor's jurisdiction," later, "a bishop's jurisdiction," from Greek dioikesis "government, administration; province," originally "economy, housekeeping," from dioikein "control, govern, administer, manage a house," from dia- "thoroughly" (see dia-) + oikos "house" (see villa).
Example
- 1. Go to the diocese and ask for help , without placing blame .
- 2. In the diocese of evreux , christianity has been part of the fabric of life for 15 centuries .
- 3. If monsignor quinn 's record passes those tests , the diocese will have to present evidence of at least two miracles attributed to him after his death .
- 4. On april 7th it was reported that a bishop , georg mueller of the norwegian diocese of trondheim , had resigned last year after confessing to the sexual abuse of an altar boy .
- 5. Donglu and the baoding diocese to which it belongs have been the scene of the official church 's bitterest struggles with underground catholics .