Definition of HOMILY

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.

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 on the Web

The book is messy as hell: full of insipid platitudes, trite homilies, and self-regarding detours delivered with the assurance of a man who fully expects to see his childhood finger paintings in a museum someday. — Laurie Penny, Longreads, "Peterson’s Complaint," 12 July 2018 Bishop Curry stands in the lineage of Black prophetic preachers like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bookending his homily with Dr. King’s words, Bishop Curry reminded us that Black preachers have always challenged the world to be better. — 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 The script by Erin Simms and first-time director Bill Holderman leans on easy laughs, superficial homilies, and generic upscale décor, and there isn’t a genuine moment in it. — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, "Stars — and audience — deserve better than ‘Book Club’," 17 May 2018 In homilies and widely broadcast radio shows, Romero implored the government to do more for the poor and criticized the repressive tactics of the military. — Esmeralda Bermudez, latimes.com, "He championed the poor and was killed by a death squad in El Salvador. Decades later, Archbishop Oscar Romero will be made a saint," 8 Mar. 2018 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

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.