diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsēs,
-ˌsēz
plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-sə-səz How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsē-zəz,
 nonstandard  ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz
: the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop
diocesan
dī-ˈä-sə-sən How to pronounce diocese (audio)
 also  ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn
adjective

Examples of diocese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In Ireland’s largest diocese of Dublin, nearly twice as many adults were baptized this Easter as a year earlier, many of them young adults who were new to the country, church leaders said, while London’s Archdiocese of Westminster had the largest number of adult baptisms this Easter since 2018. Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025 Victims’ attorneys had previously derided the church’s bankruptcy declaration, as well as its subsequent efforts to set up a financial trust for paying out settlements, accusing diocese leaders of trying to shrink the dollar amount owed to each survivor. Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025 Now the Catholic diocese has decided to re-launch the school as a private school instead. Peter Greene, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025 But now, for many of the nearly 1 million visitors who church officials say came to the diocese last year, Acutis is part of the pilgrimage. Ruth Sherlock, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for diocese

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diocise, dyoces, borrowed from Anglo-French diocise, dyocés, borrowed from Late Latin diocēsis, dioecēsis "administrative district, province, group of provinces (in the later Roman Empire), jurisdiction of a bishop" (Latin, "administrative district"), borrowed from Late Greek dioíkēsis "administration, control, ordering, civil or ecclesiastical group of provinces, jurisdiction of a bishop," going back to Greek, "management, administration," from dioikē-, variant stem of dioikéō, dioikeîn "to control, manage, look after" (from di- di- + oikeîn "to live, have one's home, order, govern," derivative of oîkos "house, home") + -sis -sis — more at vicinity

Note: In early Modern English diocise, passed on from Middle English, competed unsuccessfully with the Latin/French-influenced forms diocess and diocese. The variant diocess was predominant in the eighteenth century and is the only form entered in Samuel Johnson's dictionary (1755). The situation had changed, at least in the U.S., by the early nineteenth century: Noah Webster, in his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), enters only diocese, and regards diocess as "a very erroneous orthography."

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diocese was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Diocese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diocese. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

diocese

noun
di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsēz,
-ˌsēs
plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsē-zēz,
-sə-səz
: the district over which a bishop has authority

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