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parochial

adjective
pa·​ro·​chi·​al | \ pə-ˈrō-kē-əl How to pronounce parochial (audio) \

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
Other Words from parochial Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about parochial

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Other Words from parochial

parochially \ pə-​ˈrō-​kē-​ə-​lē How to pronounce parochially (audio) \ adverb

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.

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
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Recent Examples on the Web

 But a closer reading shows how her fiction strains against the confines of parochial societal interpretations and exercises. — Aretha Phiri, Quartz Africa, "How Toni Morrison’s legacy plays out in South Africa’s universities," 14 Aug. 2019 Not all the stories work — 24 might have been better than 34 — and sometimes the concept is too thin, the joke too parochial. — Dallas News, "Chuck Klosterman tries to make sense of our absurd reality in 'Raised in Captivity'," 16 July 2019 The album is deeply suffused with a long-standing, parochial, and miniaturized understanding of the American South. — Michael Washburn, Longreads, "Tom Petty’s Problematic Album Southern Accents," 9 July 2019 Yet, the combination worked and the team managed to transform the parochial organisation into one of the fastest-growing private sector lenders in India, now called RBL Bank. — Diksha Madhok, Quartz India, "How to be a great boss even when you have nothing in common with your staff," 11 July 2019 Whereas, the parochial person is always assured of the imaginative sufficiency of the parish. — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, "Going Home with Wendell Berry," 29 May 2019 Electoral math drives protectionist trade policies to favor parochial interests in battleground states. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Popular Vote backers miss a key Electoral College rationale," 27 June 2019 Those polling numbers are one reason the Trump administration’s policy apparatus has been laser-focused on parochial Florida issues. — Tim Fernholz, Quartz, "Florida is ground zero for Donald Trump’s re-election," 18 June 2019 San Mateo County high schools, both public and private/parochial, produced 31 National Merit Scholarship winners in 2019. — John Horgan, The Mercury News, "Horgan: Local 2019 National Merit Scholarship winners announced," 13 June 2019

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.

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First Known Use of parochial

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for parochial

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

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More Definitions for parochial

parochial

adjective
How to pronounce parochial (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of parochial

: of or relating to a church parish and the area around it
formal + usually disapproving : limited to only the things that affect your local area

See the full definition for parochial in the English Language Learners Dictionary

parochial

adjective
pa·​ro·​chi·​al | \ pə-ˈrō-kē-əl How to pronounce parochial (audio) \

Legal Definition of parochial

: of or relating to a parish

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