diocesan

noun

di·​oc·​e·​san dī-ˈä-sə-sən How to pronounce diocesan (audio)
 also  ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn
plural diocesans
: a bishop having jurisdiction over a diocese

Examples of diocesan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The diocesan website includes a statement from Dallas Bishop Edward Burns connecting the need for social distancing with the story of the Good Samaritan. David Tarrant, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020 In the Catholic Church, this is generally a time of the year when dioceses ask their members to donate to annual bishops’ Lenten appeals, which fund diocesan operations. Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, 22 Mar. 2020 Their database contains many clergy who don’t appear on official diocesan lists and so aren’t in our database. Ellis Simani, ProPublica, 3 Feb. 2020 The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas to Chile. Fox News, 18 Dec. 2019 The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas and Chile. NBC News, 17 Dec. 2019 Insurers have covered a large portion of settlements reached in previous diocesan bankruptcy cases, a 2018 study by Penn State professor Marie Reilly found, with victims receiving an average award of $371,500. CBS News, 23 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diocesan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin diocēsānus, dioecēsānus, noun derivative of Late Latin dioecēsānus, adjective, "of a civil or ecclesiastical diocesis," from diocēsis, dioecēsis "administrative district, diocese" + Latin -ānus -an entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diocesan was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near diocesan

Cite this Entry

“Diocesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diocesan. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

diocesan

1 of 2 adjective
di·​oc·​e·​san
dī-ˈäs-ə-sən
: of or relating to a diocese

diocesan

2 of 2 noun
: a bishop having authority over a diocese

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