catholic

catholic

See also: Catholic

English

Alternative forms

• Catholic

Etymology

From Old French catholique, from Latin catholicus, from Ancient Greek καθολικός (katholikós, “universal”), from κατά (katá, “according to”) + ὅλος (hólos, “whole”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/, /ˈkɑːθ(ə)lɪk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æθəlɪk, -æθlɪk
• Hyphenation: cath‧o‧lic

Adjective

catholic (comparative more catholic, superlative most catholic)

1. Universal; all-encompassing.

   Synonyms: universal; see also Thesaurus:generic, Thesaurus:comprehensive

   • 1624, John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII., in The Works of John Donne, vol. 3, ed. Henry Alford, London: John W. Parker (1839), pp. 574-5:

     The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does, belongs to all.

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29:

     Essentially, and in idea, the empire, in the minds of the Romans, was world-wide. This conception descended to the Church, which was ‘Catholic’ in spite of Buddhists, Confucians, and (later) Muhammadans.

   • 1961 March, “Motive Power Miscellany”, in Trains Illustrated, page 181:

     Newton Heath depot has lately been catholic in its choice of power for the 6.10 p.m. Manchester-Southport and the 9 p.m. back via Bolton.

   • 1995, Brian D. Crandall & Peter W. Stahl, Human Digestive Effects on a Micromammalian Skeleton, Journal of Archaeological Science (1995) 22, 789-797:

     This semifossorial mammal tends to reside in areas with herbaceous cover, frequenting runways in the upper soil horizons where it feeds on a highly catholic diet of animal and plant materials […]

2. Alternative letter-case form of Catholic.
3. (obsolete) Common or prevalent; especially universally prevalent.
4. (usually of people and their feelings, tastes, etc.) Embracing all.

   Synonyms: eclectic; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous

   • 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 584:

     "I've got catholic tastes. Catholic with a small "c", of course."

   • 2003, Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press. p.72:

     He was omnivorous in his appetite for knowledge, quite catholic in his range of interests […]

5. (of medicines or remedies, obsolete) Universally applicable.
6. Of universal human interest or use.
   • c. 1625, John Donne, Evelyn M. Simpson and George R. Potter, editors, The Sermons of John Donne‎, volume 7, Berkeley: University of California Press, published 1962, page 51:

     And as the whole booke of Psalmes is Oleum efjusum, (as the Spouse speaks of the name of Christ) an Oyntment powred out upon all sorts of sores, A Searcloth that souples all bruises, A Balme that searches all wounds; so are there some certaine Psalmes, that are Imperiall Psalmes, that command over all affections, and spread themselves over all occasions, Catholique, universall Psalmes, that apply themselves to all necessities.

   • 1868, James Anthony Froude, Short Studies on Great Subjects‎, 3rd edition, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 363:

     And this vast number is but a selection ; the editors chose only out of the mass before them what was most noteworthy and trustworthy, and what was of catholic rather than of national interest.

Usage notes

• Sense 4 can also be used figuratively to refer to things.

Derived terms

• catholic epistle
• catholic creditor

Translations

universal

French: catholique (fr) m or f German: umfassend (de), allumfassend (de), universal (de)

References

• “catholic, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2020.

Anagrams

• Chilcoat