Conventicle
[kәn'ventikl]
Definition
(noun.) a building for religious assembly (especially Nonconformists, e.g., Quakers).
(noun.) a secret unauthorized meeting for religious worship.
Checked by Eli--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A small assembly or gathering; esp., a secret assembly.
(n.) An assembly for religious worship; esp., such an assembly held privately, as in times of persecution, by Nonconformists or Dissenters in England, or by Covenanters in Scotland; -- often used opprobriously, as if those assembled were heretics or schismatics.
Checker: Lorrie
Definition
n. applied in contempt to a meeting for worship of dissenters from the Established Church applied esp. to the field-preachings of the Presbyterian ministers in the persecutions under Charles II. and James II.: any private clandestine or irregular meeting.—v.i. to hold such.—n. Conven′ticler.
Typed by Abe
Examples
- Neither of them were ever known, however, to set foot in a conventicle. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Customers will be drawn to each conventicle by new industry and address, in practising on the passions and credulity of the populace. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Edited by Fred