Definition of parochial
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
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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 of parochial from the Web
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Perhaps even more important are lawmakers' parochial interests.
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Of course, lawmakers have parochial reasons to oppose even studying closing facilities:
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If the debate is primarily about the president, Republicans cannot easily shift the focus toward more parochial matters — like money for public works, local military bases and schools — that would usually allow them a measure of political isolation.
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Public and parochial, Closed/Closed City agencies: Closed District health centers: Closed Libraries: Closed Recreation centers:
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With the future that wide open, don't better campaigns for bigger clients in more lucrative industries (the goals Ted and Peggy suggest) seem a little parochial?
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To return the book to a more parochial viewpoint relevant to the daily life of his audience for the last chapter, Prothero considers the risks earthquakes, landslides, and other natural disasters present to our lives.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parochial'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
In the Greek New Testament, the word paroikia means "temporary residence." (It's 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 Middle 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.
Origin and Etymology of parochial
Middle English parochiall, from Anglo-French parochial, from Late Latin parochialis, from parochia parish — more at parish
Other Christian Religious Terms
PAROCHIAL Defined for English Language Learners
parochial
playDefinition of parochial for English Language Learners
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: of or relating to a church parish and the area around it
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: limited to only the things that affect your local area
Law Dictionary
parochial
playLegal Definition of parochial
: of or relating to a parish
Learn More about parochial
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for parochial Spanish Central: Translation of parochial Nglish: Translation of parochial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of parochial for Arabic speakers
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