congregation
Pronunciation: /ˌkɒŋɡɹɪˈɡeɪʃən/
The English word “congregation” has 8 meanings listed here.
noun
- The act of congregating or collecting together.
- A gathering of faithful in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship, especially those present at a devotional service or who regularly attend such services, particularly in contrast to the leadership, choir or others.
- A Roman Congregation, a main department of the Vatican administration of the Catholic Church.
- A corporate body whose members gather for worship, or the members of such a body.
- Any large gathering of people.
- A flock of birds.
- A group of alligators or crocodiles.
- The main body of university staff, comprising academics, administrative staff, heads of colleges, etc.
Etymology
From Middle English congregacioun, from Old French congregacion, from Latin congregātiō, itself from congregō (“to herd into a flock”). Adopted (1520s) by the English Bible translator William Tyndale, to render the Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “those called together, (popular) meeting”) (hence Latin ecclēsia) in his New Testament, and preferred by 16th century Reformers instead of church. By…
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More English words
- congree
- congregable
- congregant
- congregate
- Congregational
- congregational
- Congregational church
- Congregationalism
About this dictionary
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.