diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēs,

-ˌsēz

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-sə-səz 

-ˌsē-zəz,

 nonstandard  ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz

: the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop

diocesan

dī-ˈä-sə-sən 

 also  ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn

adjective

Examples of diocese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The sisters accused Olson of publishing the documents from the Vatican on the diocese’s website Thursday without notifying the monastery. —Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024

Suárez’s interview echoes a statement released by the diocese of Cuba’s third largest city, Holguín, represented by the president of the Conference of Bishops Emilio Aranguren. —Orlando Matos, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024

The Catholic Charities Bureau is the Superior diocese's entity. —Todd Richmond, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024

Officials at the Lumen Christi network — established to independently operate and finance six Oakland diocese schools in the East Bay — said a new dual-language Catholic school could potentially open by fall 2025 at the St. Anthony campus. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2024

The diocese recently unveiled plans to build a new cathedral after outgrowing the 85-year-old St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2024

Beset by hundreds of abuse lawsuits, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in federal court Monday, a move designed to allow the diocese to provide settlements to plaintiffs. —Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

When asked about the civil suit, Price said the diocese cannot comment on pending litigation. —Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal, 20 Mar. 2024

Still, the diocese acknowledged citizens have an obligation to ensure national security. —Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024

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

Kids Definition

diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēz,

-ˌsēs

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz 

-ˌsē-zēz,

-sə-səz

: the district over which a bishop has authority