parish

noun

par·​ish ˈper-ish 

ˈpa-rish

1

a(1)

: the ecclesiastical unit of area committed to one pastor

(2)

: the residents of such an area

b

British : a subdivision of a county often coinciding with an original ecclesiastical parish and constituting the unit of local government

2

: a local church community composed of the members or constituents of a Protestant church

3

: a civil division of the state of Louisiana corresponding to a county in other states

Examples of parish in a Sentence

The parish will be getting a new priest soon.

The parish has grown significantly in the last three years.

Recent Examples on the Web

Josh O’Connor, who leads as Father Jud, attempting to save the flock of churchgoers at an upstate New York parish, was not in attendance at the screening. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025

Sean Carroll, the Provincial of the Jesuits West Province, which oversees Jesuit parishes and schools in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. —Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2025

The Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of New York has also re-evaluated its safety measures and added armed security at all parishes and schools in the past few weeks, the organization’s director of communications, Joseph Zwilling, told USA TODAY over email. —Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025

Outside his parish, a mosaic of Augustinian saints — including Saint Monica, Clare of Montefalco, and Saint Rita of Cascia — reflects that spiritual lineage. —Jason Derose, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parisshe, from Anglo-French paroche, parosse, from Late Latin parochia, from Late Greek paroikia, from paroikos Christian, from Greek, stranger, from para- + oikos house — more at vicinity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing parish

• inter-parish
• parish-pump

Kids Definition

parish

noun

par·​ish ˈpar-ish 

1

a

: a section of a church district in the care of a priest or minister

b

: the persons who live in and attend the church of such a section

2

: the members of a church

3

: a division of the state of Louisiana that is similar to a county in other states

Legal Definition

parish

noun

par·​ish ˈpar-ish 

: a civil division of the state of Louisiana corresponding to a county in other states