parochial
adjective
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
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
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025
Rather, Colbert won after knocking, by his count, on 20,000 doors, wearing out several pairs of size 15 shoes and putting parochial concerns, such as wildfire prevention, disaster preparedness and flood control, at the center of his campaign.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
As for the threat of parochial approaches, Hamilton appealed to the idea that interoperability is key.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025
Yet somehow, all these factors, seemingly easily translatable across the world’s cuisines, has led to an intensely parochial guide.
—Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for parochial
Cite this Entry
“Parochial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parochial. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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