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.
And with that, a one-time refugee officially became San Diego County’s newest bishop and the first Vietnamese American to lead a diocese in the United States. Blake Nelson, Mercury News, 18 July 2025 The dispensation by the diocese of San Bernardino, California, is in response to the Trump administration's mass deportation operations. Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 9 July 2025 This means the schools are funded and governed independently from the diocese, which runs high schools of its own, such as Aurora Central Catholic. Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025 Leo’s old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home, and then there’s Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope. Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 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 29 Jul. 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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