Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal.
- adj. Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church.
- adj. Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- General; universal; specifically, belonging to the entire Christian church.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions
- adj. of worldwide scope or applicability
Etymologies
- From ecumenic + -al. (Wiktionary)
- From Late Latin oecūmenicus, from Greek oikoumenikos, from (hē) oikoumenē (gē), (the) inhabited (world), feminine present passive participle of oikein, to inhabit, from oikos, house; see weik-1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It is not my use of the term ecumenical - I already admitted that I only used that term out of pure orneryness.”
sbcIMPACT life :: theology :: church :: ministry :: missions :: worship
“I think most people expect that Mr. Obama will be viewed in ecumenical circles as the most genuine, faithful candidate in the race.”
“A number of the principles have roots in ecumenical agreements that date back more than 50 years, noted Dr. Kinnamon, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister and professor at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.”
Ecumenical "Christian Principles in an Election Year" Offer Criteria for Judging Candidates
“For a whole generation he has also been a leading figure in ecumenical work.”
“Pointing to the image of Christ crucified with his arms stretched out, he called the ecumenical body to take on that same "inclusive" image, embracing everybody and sharing God's gifts with all.”
“For decades, the two churches have held theological discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican's broader, long-term ecumenical effort to unify all Christians who have separated from Rome over the centuries.”
“For decades, the two churches have held theological discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican's broader, long-term ecumenical effort to unify all Christians.”
“I’ve been involved in ecumenical activities (different Christian sects working together, promoting Christianity as a whole rather than promoting the United Free Church as being better than the Reformed Free Church …) and interfaith activities (Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews and Sikhs all discussing the commonalities of faith as well as the difference) … It hasn’t hurt my faith at all.”
Think Progress » War on Christmas Fraud Exposed: The Silent Night “Rewrite” That Wasn’t
“A sense of shared generic or “Judeo-Christian,” a term invented in this period values began to emerge, and in institutional terms the ecumenical movement gathered steam.”
“Even so-called ecumenical gatherings between modernist birds of a feather end up drowning in a sea of meaningless words.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ecumenical’.
-
Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
New to Me
anodyne, salient, ecumenical, salubrious, invective, incendiary, colophon, stola, druthers, syllogism, geodesic, quant and 16 more...
-
Vocab_TC60Q_txtbook
most vocab in the textbook Page till end chapter 2.
moribund, unflagging, defunct, sated, inveigling, opining, needling, fulminating, lauding, vassals, serfs, minions and 86 more...
-
GRE Words
orotund, mendacious, inimical, foment, contumacious, abrogate, arrogate, syncretism, abate, abdication, aberration, abeyance and 123 more...
-
Appellations
States of ment.
off kilter, fervent, nonchalant, exuberant, turbid, verbose, eloquent, vicarious, gallivant, orotund, amalgamate, accentuate and 285 more...
-
Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
-
New words
Words that are new to me.
autostrada, gimlet, clyster, gravida, skelped, nacreous, susurrus, intransigent, puissant, turbid, plangent, fungible and 99 more...
-
sillygoose's Words
nefarious, waffle, dilettante, love, obstreperous, suggestible, fodder, plucky, trajectory, eclectic, juggernaut, demure and 115 more...
-
NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
-
Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
-
annscann's list
My words, generally
bavarois, bawbee, bawd, bawdry, libertine, russophobe, rubicund, gossamer, persnickety, claptrap, gesticulate, schadenfreudian and 199 more...
-
Interesting words
ineffable, effable, immutable, amorphous, parochial, salient, ascertain, circumspect, congenial, coeval, aversion, edification and 117 more...
-
Big Book #2 List
absolution, restitution, contrition, moratorium, nautical, nirvana, pandemonium, perennial, symposium, dialectic, dipsomaniacal, ecumenical and 117 more...
-
xstala's Words
oneiric, inchoate, clandestine, tangerine, brusque, clout, benedictine, argonaut, juniper, tulle, zealot, vesper and 175 more...
-
my words
interminable, effete, convocation, philistines, malaise, foibles, deputation, anathematized, morass, stalwart, proselytize, abet and 405 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ecumenical.
dailyword Father Jack used this word in an episode of "Father Ted" when they were being visited by some of their priest friends. Jun 10, 2012
seanahan From David Eddings, referring to a character named Silk,
"Silk's depredations were broadly ecumenical". Jan 23, 2008
jennarenn cute :) Jan 22, 2008
asativum This word always reminds me of an old joke:
A Catholic priest and a Protestant minister were in a heated theological argument. After a lull, one (take your pick) said, "Well, we must remember that we worship the same God."
"Yes," said the other. "You in your way, I in His." Jan 22, 2008
yarb "That would be an ecumenical matter!" - Father Jack. Jan 21, 2008
misterpolly A Good Thing when you can get other religions to admit that they've got it wrong and yours has got it right. Jan 21, 2008