hedge sermon
/ˈhɛdʒ ˌsɝmən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An open-air religious service held by Calvinists in the Low Countries during the Reformation, typically in rural areas beyond the reach of civic authorities.
Example Sentences
- "Fearing an escalation of the unrest, the city administrators made some important concessions to the Protestants: the Catholic churches were closed after the removal of all religious images; the Calvinists were permitted to hold their hedge sermons, albeit only outside the city […]."
- "The first so-called hedge sermon was held in the cemetery of Boeschepe in the always turbulent Flemish Westkwartier on Sunday morning, July 12, timed to coincide with mass."
- "Even after the iconoclasm that began on 10 August, many in the Netherlands hoped to see freedom of worship for all, without public violence, hedge-sermons, or the burning of heretics."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhɛdʒ ˌsɝmən/