Church
[tʃɜːtʃ] or [tʃɝtʃ]
Definition
(noun.) a place for public (especially Christian) worship; 'the church was empty'.
(noun.) one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship.
(noun.) the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church; 'our church is hosting a picnic next week'.
(verb.) perform a special church rite or service for; 'church a woman after childbirth'.
Inputed by Hodge--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A building set apart for Christian worship.
(n.) A Jewish or heathen temple.
(n.) A formally organized body of Christian believers worshiping together.
(n.) A body of Christian believers, holding the same creed, observing the same rites, and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a denomination; as, the Roman Catholic church; the Presbyterian church.
(n.) The collective body of Christians.
(n.) Any body of worshipers; as, the Jewish church; the church of Brahm.
(n.) The aggregate of religious influences in a community; ecclesiastical influence, authority, etc.; as, to array the power of the church against some moral evil.
(v. t.) To bless according to a prescribed form, or to unite with in publicly returning thanks in church, as after deliverance from the dangers of childbirth; as, the churching of women.
Inputed by Darlene
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Temple, house of worship, house of God, meeting-house.[2]. Body of Christians.[3]. Ecclesiastical authority (as distinguished from that of the State).
Editor: Trudy
Definition
n. a house set apart for Christian worship: the whole body of Christians: the clergy: any particular sect or denomination of Christians: any body professing a common creed not necessarily Christian.—v.t. to perform with any one the giving of thanks in church more esp. of a woman after childbirth or of a newly-married couple on first appearing at church after marriage.—ns. Church′-ale a strong ale brewed for a church festival: the festival at which the ale was drunk; Church′-bench (Shak.) a seat in the porch of a church; Church′-court a court for deciding ecclesiastical causes a presbytery synod or general assembly; Church′-gō′ing the act of going to church esp. habitually; Church′ing the first appearance of a woman in church after childbirth; Church′ism adherence to the forms or principles of some church.—adj. Church′less not belonging to a church: (Tennyson) without church approval.—ns. Church′man a clergyman or ecclesiastic: a member or upholder of the established church; Church′-rate an assessment for the sustentation of the fabric &c. of the parish church; Church′-serv′ice the form of religious service followed in a church order of public worship a book containing such; Church′-text a thin and tall form of black-letter print; Churchwar′den an officer who represents the interests of a parish or church: a long clay-pipe; Church′way the public way or road that leads to the church; Church′woman a female member of the Anglican Church.—adj. Church′y obtrusively devoted to the church.—n. Church′yard the burial-ground round a church.—Church history the description of the course of development through which the church as a whole as well as its special departments and various institutions has passed from the time of its foundation down to our own day; Church militant the church on earth in its struggle against evil; Church triumphant the portion of the church which has overcome and left this world.—Visible and Invisible church (see Visible).
Checker: Melva
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of seeing a church in the distance, denotes disappointment in pleasures long anticipated. To enter one wrapt in gloom, you will participate in a funeral. Dull prospects of better times are portended.
Typed by Julie
Examples
- On the second day he found his wife and Sir Percival whispering together quite familiar, close under the vestry of the church. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I saw them stop near the church and speak to the sexton's wife, who had come from the cottage, and had waited, watching us from a distance. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- But since we no longer have the Church I do not think it carries importance. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Not a vestige of the entry which recorded the marriage of Sir Felix Glyde and Cecilia Jane Elster in the register of the church! Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I should have walked on to the church if the conversation of two men and a woman on the outskirts of the crowd had not caught my ear. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It is a droll little church. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- He is leaving the Church on account of his opinions--his doubts would do him no good at Oxford. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- My impatience to reach the church was so great that I could not remain inactive in the cottage while the clerk lit the lantern again. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He would like the wedding to be the day after tomorrow, quite privately; at the church of his parish--not at ours. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Part of the evening church service was the form of worship observed in Mr. Helstone's household. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- This desecration was not the act of some isolated fanatic; it was the official act of the church. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Its destination was the old church of Saint Pancras, far off in the fields. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- All church preferments were in this manner in the disposal of the church. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- It may be an admirable agent of reform, but it has ceased to be a church. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- We have already shown how the hold of the Catholic church upon the consciences of men was weakening at this time. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But there was a systematic hunt for the copies of Holy Writ, and in many places a systematic destruction of Christian churches. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- We have almost no spiritual weapons against classicalism: universities, churches, newspapers are by-products of a commercial success; we have no tradition of intellectual revolt. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- With Ephesus, forty miles from here, where was located another of the seven churches, the case was different. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Theoretically, Mr. Yorke placed all sects and churches on a level. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Early in the morning, I sauntered through the dear old tranquil streets, and again mingled with the shadows of the venerable gateways and churches. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Human beings have desires that are far more important than the tools and toys and churches they make to satisfy them. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The Seven Churches--thus they abbreviate it--came next on the list. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Look at the so-called liberal churches. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- We have seen, in these old churches, a profusion of costly and elaborate sepulchre ornamentation such as we never dreampt of before. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Where churches were being built he painted glass, where towns or nobles needed measurers or surveyors of their lands he worked for them. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The line between the Rebel and Union element in Georgetown was so marked that it led to divisions even in the churches. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Houses, gates, churches, haystacks, objects of every kind they shot by, with a velocity and noise like roaring waters suddenly let loose. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- They prowled about the churches and picture-galleries, much in the old, dreary, prison-yard manner. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Useful clocks of wondrous make were described in the annals of the middle ages, especially in Germany, made by monks and others for Kings, monasteries and churches. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The liberal and advanced churches recognize this fact by exhibiting a great preoccupation with everyday affairs. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Edited by Barrett