parish
parish Lexical Profile
parish Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small administrative district in many Christian denominations having its own church and designated priest, pastor, or minister.
"The historic stone church has served the surrounding rural parish for more than three centuries."
The inhabitants or members of a church district considered collectively as a religious community.
"The entire parish gathered in the community hall on Sunday afternoon to welcome the new vicar."
British The smallest unit of local civil government in England, historically corresponding to an ecclesiastical district.
"The civil parish council voted to allocate funds for repairing the village playground and footpaths."
American A territorial and administrative division in the U.S. state of Louisiana (and several Caribbean nations) corresponding to a county in other states.
"Voters across Orleans Parish headed to the polls early Tuesday morning for the municipal elections."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'parish' with its homophone 'perish' (to die or suffer destruction). Additionally, while 'parish' is neutral, its derived adjective 'parochial' often carries a negative connotation of being narrow-minded or overly provincial.
• Rhymes for parish
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman 'paroche' and Old French 'paroisse', via Late Latin 'parochia' from Ancient Greek 'paroikia' (a sojourning or ecclesiastical district), formed from 'para-' (beside) and 'oikos' (house or dwelling).