Definition of homily
homilies
1 : a usually short sermon a priest delivering his homily
2 : a lecture or discourse on or of a moral theme
3 : an inspirational catchphrase; also : platitude
From the M-W Editors
homily was our Word of the Day on 07/31/2016. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of homily in a Sentence
The priest gave a brief homily on forgiveness.
We had to listen to another one of his homilies about the value of public service.
a politician with a fondness for homily
Recent Examples of homily from the Web
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Pastor Moses Sangha and Pastor Richard Keller, a retired Methodist minister, will lead informal services that include singing, praying and a brief homily.
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On Christmas Day, in every church the world over, whether a cathedral or the shell of an ancient chapel in Iraq, congregants will sit down to hear a homily on hope.
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Strip away the emotions of the moment—the raw memory of Kennedy’s assassination, the controversies surrounding the ultra-right John Birch Society—and the formulation becomes a homily on the moral logic of political decision-making.
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He was remembered as much for his faith and family as his jurisprudence, as one of his sons, the Rev. Paul D. Scalia, delivered an eloquent homily that emphasized the late justice’s devout Catholicism.
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In place of Urquhart’s Shakespearean asides, Underwood delivers cornpone homilies that tend to be funny in precisely the wrong way—not witty, but ridiculous.
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A beautiful homily, a genuine sermon must begin with the first proclamation, with the proclamation of salvation.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'homily'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Gather around for the history of homily. The story starts with ancient Greek homilos, meaning "crowd" or "assembly." Greeks used homilos to create the verb homilein ("to consort with" or "to address"), as well as the noun homilia ("conversation"). Latin speakers borrowed homilia, then passed it on to Anglo-French. By the time it crossed into Middle English, the spelling had shifted to omelie, but by the mid-16th century the term had regained its "h" and the "y" of the modern spelling was added.
Origin and Etymology of homily
Middle English omelie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin homilia, from Late Greek, from Greek, conversation, discourse, from homilein to consort with, address, from homilos crowd, assembly; akin to Greek homos same — more at same
HOMILY Defined for English Language Learners
homily
playDefinition of homily for English Language Learners
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: a usually short talk on a religious or moral topic
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: advice that is often not wanted
Learn More about homily
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for homily Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homily
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