cathedral
/kəˈθidɹəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.99 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Relating to the office of a bishop or an archbishop.
noun
The principal church serving as the office (and some as place of residence) of an archdiocese's/a diocese's archbishop/bishop which is symbolized by an episcopal throne known as the cathedra.
name
The mainstream system or establishment in society, regarded as liberal or leftist.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "The bishop presided over the ceremony from his seat in the cathedral."
- "a cathedral of commerce"
- "The reaction from the Cathedral—the press, the political establishment, and everyone else who shaped acceptable opinion—was quick and unanimous"
- "This is why grown-up men and women in the Cathedral (to use the neoreactionary term for the Establishment) actually believe that the MAGA yahoos of January 6 nearly overthrew the US government."
- "[Curtis Yarvin] is forthright in his belief that the present order — to his mind, an oligarchy governed by a complex of elite institutions (like this newspaper) that he calls “the Cathedral” — should be overthrown"
Etymology
From Middle English cathedral, chathedral, cathiderall, from Old French [Term?], from Latin cathedrālis, from cathedra + -ālis, from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “chair of a teacher, throne”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kəˈθidɹəl/
- British English: /kəˈθiːdɹəl/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.