parish

[ par-ish ]
See synonyms for parish on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an ecclesiastical district having its own church and member of the clergy.

  2. a local church with its field of activity.

  1. (in Louisiana) a county.

  2. the people of an ecclesiastical or civil parish.

  3. Curling. house (def. 21).

Idioms about parish

  1. on the parish, British.

    • receiving charity from local authorities.

    • Informal. meagerly or inadequately supplied.

Origin of parish

1
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

Other words from parish

  • in·ter·par·ish, adjective
  • trans·par·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for parish

parish

/ (ˈpærɪʃ) /


noun
  1. a subdivision of a diocese, having its own church and a clergyman: Related adjective: parochial

  2. the churchgoers of such a subdivision

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

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

  3. the people living in a parish

  4. on the parish history receiving parochial relief

Origin of parish

1
C13: from Old French paroisse, from Church Latin parochia, from Late Greek paroikia, from paroikos Christian, sojourner, from Greek: neighbour, from para- 1 (beside) + oikos house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012