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

Walsh’s ruling gave the OCA, which is the largest of three Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in the United States, authority to govern the parish and the judge ordered the parish’s former leaders to vacate the property by June 2025. —Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026

Savannah Guthrie shared a powerful video message with the parish of the Good Shepherd New York church on Easter amid the search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Apr. 2026

Looney said Gutierrez, who was a member of his parish, had his infant son baptized a month before the hostage crisis. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2026

The merger, which went into effect July 1, 2022, was one of two consolidations of Evanston’s Catholic parishes. —Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026

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