parochial

adjective

pa·​ro·​chi·​al pə-ˈrō-kē-əl How to pronounce parochial (audio)
1
: of or relating to a church parish
our pastor and other parochial leaders
2
: of or relating to a parish as a unit of local government
parochial authorities serve the inhabitants of Louisiana's parishes
3
: confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish : limited in range or scope (as to a narrow area or region) : provincial, narrow
parochially adverb

Did you know?

In the Greek of the New Testament, the word paroikia means "temporary residence in a foreign land" and comes from the Greek word for "stranger": paroikos. Early Christians used this designation for their colonies because they considered heaven their real home. But temporary or not, these Christian colonies became more organized as time went on. Thus, in Late Latin, parochia became the designation for a group of Christians in a given area under the leadership of one pastor—what we came to call a parish in the 14th century. Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that had been derived from the Late Latin. We didn't begin to use parochial in its "narrow" sense until the mid-19th century.

Examples of parochial in a Sentence

It has never been clearer that the country's best self is a global inheritance, its worst a parochial self-certainty. Jedediah Purdy, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
There is no patience for the parochial, the small-time, the stay-in-place, not in Los Angeles. Richard Hoffer, Sports Illustrated, 8 Sept. 2008
… during the mid-1780s, Madison had two great goals. The first was to inculcate an enlightened sense of national interest in legislators whose political instincts were innately parochial. Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings … , 1996
our pastor and other parochial leaders voters worried about their own parochial concerns
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
How can a place be at once so cosmopolitan and so parochial? Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 Uniforms were only associated with parochial and private schools until the late 1980s, but public schools began piloting them as well, allowing plaid’s influence in American classrooms to spread. Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 5 Sep. 2024 The United States would not be a normal great power, seeking parochial gains in an anarchic world. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2021 Under Jiang and Hu, bureaucrats could leverage their leaders’ sense of vulnerability to advance their own parochial interests by pressuring their bosses to adopt particular policies. Tyler Jost, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2023 See all Example Sentences for parochial 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parochiall, from Anglo-French parochial, from Late Latin parochialis, from parochia parish — more at parish

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of parochial was in the 14th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near parochial

Cite this Entry

“Parochial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parochial. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

parochial

adjective
pa·​ro·​chi·​al pə-ˈrō-kē-əl How to pronounce parochial (audio)
1
: of or relating to a parish
2
: restricted or limited in range or scope : narrow, provincial
a parochial point of view
parochialism
-kē-ə-ˌliz-əm
noun
parochially adverb

Legal Definition

parochial

adjective
pa·​ro·​chi·​al pə-ˈrō-kē-əl How to pronounce parochial (audio)
: of or relating to a parish

More from Merriam-Webster on parochial

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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