parochial
adjective
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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.
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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
Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
Despite their parochial disagreements, America’s enemies are united in their effort to put the age of U.S. hegemony to an end.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 18 Mar. 2024
Unlike in the mainland U.S., the island’s public education system mainly serves low-income communities; the majority of middle-income and upper-income families use parochial or private schools.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
The sole no vote was by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who worries that Congress is using anger toward China as a cover for advancing parochial interests.
—John Wilkerson, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024
Patrick Finn of Maine, the parochial vicar at Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston, Lisbon Falls and Sabbatus, Maine.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2024
Conversely, prohibiting scholarships to parochial and private schools would achieve the same result.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023
Public school advocates quickly filed a petition to raise the question of using state money for private or parochial K-12 schools − invoking the separation of church and state.
—USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
Several million children had left public schools for private and parochial ones or for homeschooling; several hundred thousand were simply unaccounted for.
—Alec MacGillis, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parochial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Parochial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parochial. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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parochial
adjective
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parochial
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on parochial
Nglish: Translation of parochial for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of parochial for Arabic Speakers
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