parishioner

noun

pa·​rish·​ion·​er pə-ˈri-sh(ə-)nər How to pronounce parishioner (audio)
: a member or inhabitant of a parish

Examples of parishioner in a Sentence

the parishioners of First Baptist Church
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Pope Leo's statement is one of many debates being had in religious circles about the implications of AI and how parishioners should or should not engage with the rapidly growing technology. Greta Cross, USA Today, 29 May 2026 At least 24 people died in major crashes over the past week, including eight Roman Catholic parishioners whose vehicle plunged into a river. ABC News, 27 May 2026 In advance of its release, and leery of the inevitable TL;DR reaction, one Texas bishop warned parishioners not to ask a chatbot to summarize it for them. Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 27 May 2026 Former parishioner Marie Dickson still remembers the shock. Joe Holden, CBS News, 15 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for parishioner

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parisshoner, probably modification of Anglo-French parochien, from paroche

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parishioner was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Parishioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parishioner. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

parishioner

noun
pa·​rish·​io·​ner
pə-ˈrish-(ə-)nər
: a member or resident of a parish

More from Merriam-Webster on parishioner

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster