parochial
/pəˈɹoʊki.əl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.05 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to a parish.
adj
Characterized by an unsophisticated focus on local concerns to the exclusion of wider contexts; elementary in scope or outlook.
Derogatory
noun
A parochial individual.
Example Sentences
- "The parish council handles parochial affairs. [civil context]"
- "The rector and vestry handle parochial affairs. [church context]"
- "The use of simple, primary colors in the painting gave it a parochial feel."
- "Some people in the United States have been accused of taking a parochial view, of not being interested in international matters."
- "But for men of principle and honour and straightforward thought there could be no middle course and no paltering with petty issues of party or parochial advantage."
- "Its atmosphere might have been provincial, but it was never merely parochial."
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman parochial and its source Late Latin parochialis, an alteration of paroecialis (“of a church province”), from paroecia, from Hellenistic Greek παροικία (paroikía, “stay in a foreign land”), later “community, diocese”, from Ancient Greek πάροικος (pároikos, “neighbouring, neighbour”), from παρα- (para-) + οἶκος (oîkos, “house”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pəˈɹoʊki.əl/
- British English: /pəˈɹəʊkɪəl/