churchly

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churchly

/t͡ʃɜːt͡ʃ.li/ UK
/t͡ʃɝt͡ʃ.li/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English *chirchely, *chirchelich, from Old English ċiriclīċ (“ecclesiastical”), equivalent to church + -ly. Cognate with Scots kirkly (“ecclesiastical”), Dutch kerkelijk (“ecclesiastic, ecclesiastical”), German kirchlich (“ecclesiastical, religious, ecclesiastic”), Swedish kyrklig (“ecclesiastical”). Compare also churchlike.

adjective churchlier · churchliest

Pertaining to or relating to the church, its government, forms, or ceremonies; ecclesiastical. [...] upon getting their hearts right in the sight of God, confident, meanwhile, that then all churchly things would not only be conserved, but gathered into right form.
Similar: churchical, churchlike, churchish, churchly, churchy, ecclesial, ecclesiastic, ecclesiastical
Devoted to, or inclined to attach great importance to, the order and ritual of a particular section of the Christian church. And in the Smiths of Stratford, in Suffolk, of whom we would now discourse, a middle class family of no great opulence, we have signs of the churchly instinct passing down from generation to generation, [...]
In accordance with ecclesiastical standards or ceremonies; appropriate for or befitting a church. churchly music
Characteristic of a church; churchy.
Similar: churchical

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MLA

"churchly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/churchly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

churchly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/churchly

Chicago

"churchly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/churchly.

BibTeX

@misc{churchly_2026,
  title = {churchly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/churchly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}