homily

noun hom·i·ly \ ˈhä-mə-lē \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Examples: homily in a Sentence

Editor's Note: homily Has Greek Roots

Definition of homily

plural 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

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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

Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., praised American Episcopalian preacher Bishop Michael Curry's stirring homily at the ceremony, which opened with a quote from her father.

— kara fox, CNN, "'Breathtaken' and 'blessed': the world reacts to the royal wedding," 19 May 2018
In an Easter Vigil homily, Francis challenged Catholics to not remain silent, as Jesus' disciples were after his crucifixion.

— NBC News, "Pope Francis in Easter Vigil baptizes Nigerian migrant called hero," 31 Mar. 2018
On Sunday, Symeonides delivered the homily and talked with parishioners about their former priest.

— karen herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Leader seeks Holy Week forgiveness for betrayed Greek Orthodox church in Wisconsin," 2 Apr. 2018
Yet, one of the most poignant moments came during the wedding homily.

— candice benbow, Glamour, "My Bishop, Most Rev. Michael Curry, Just Changed the History of Royal Weddings—Here's Why His Sermon Matters," 19 May 2018
Francis focused on reconciliation, or confession, during his homily Sunday for an annual Mass in St. Peter's Square dedicated to mercy, a signature theme of his papacy.

— Fox News, "Pope focuses on reconciliation in Mass dedicated to mercy," 8 Apr. 2018
In his Palm Sunday homily, Andrew spoke of the gospel portrayals of Peter and Judas, two disciples who both betrayed Jesus.

— clara hatcher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Father, son follow different paths, same calling to become Catholic priests," 30 Mar. 2018
In his homily, Francis warned priests to not be tempted to insist on church law and doctrine when preaching, since that can distance ordinary faithful from Jesus.

— Fox News, "Pope on Holy Thursday urges priests to be close to sinners," 29 Mar. 2018
Edward Staniek during his homily at The Church of the Felician Sisters in Krakow.

— aj willingham, CNN, "Priest publicly wishes for Pope's quick death because of his views on immigration and Islam," 20 Mar. 2018

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.

homily Has Greek Roots

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

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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