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diocesan
noun
di·oc·e·san
dī-ˈä-sə-sən
also ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn
plural diocesans
: a bishop having jurisdiction over a diocese
Examples of diocesan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The diocesan website includes a statement from Dallas Bishop Edward Burns connecting the need for social distancing with the story of the Good Samaritan.
—David Tarrant, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020
In the Catholic Church, this is generally a time of the year when dioceses ask their members to donate to annual bishops’ Lenten appeals, which fund diocesan operations.
—Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, 22 Mar. 2020
Their database contains many clergy who don’t appear on official diocesan lists and so aren’t in our database.
—Ellis Simani, ProPublica, 3 Feb. 2020
The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas to Chile.
—Fox News, 18 Dec. 2019
The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas and Chile.
—NBC News, 17 Dec. 2019
Insurers have covered a large portion of settlements reached in previous diocesan bankruptcy cases, a 2018 study by Penn State professor Marie Reilly found, with victims receiving an average award of $371,500.
—CBS News, 23 Sep. 2019
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Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin diocēsānus, dioecēsānus, noun derivative of Late Latin dioecēsānus, adjective, "of a civil or ecclesiastical diocesis," from diocēsis, dioecēsis "administrative district, diocese" + Latin -ānus -an entry 2
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of diocesan was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near diocesan
Cite this Entry
“Diocesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diocesan. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
diocesan
1 of 2 adjective
di·oc·e·san
dī-ˈäs-ə-sən
: of or relating to a diocese
diocesan
2 of 2 noun
: a bishop having authority over a diocese
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