cathedral English · revision 10565

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=fro cathedral|origins=la-lat cathedralis|origins=grc καθέδρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈθiː.drəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|cathedral]] and Late Latin cathedrālis, of the (bishop's) chair,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Latin cathedra, chair,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Greek [[m|grc|καθέδρα|tr=kathédrā|t=seat, bench]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from katá, down, and hédra, seat, from the root of [[sit]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[chair]] comes from the same Latin word.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, in ''cathedral church'', the church containing a bishop's throne: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) partly translating Late Latin ecclesia cathedrālis.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The English word was born an adjective;^(Etymonline) the noun, short for cathedral church, is from 1587.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) Authoritative, as from a chair of office, is from 1603 for a professor's chair,^(OED 1989) and the Latin phrase ''ex cathedra'', with the full authority of office, refers to the throne of a bishop or pope.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – cathedral church.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1587 – a cathedral (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1603 – authoritative, professorial.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The principal [[church]] of a [[diocese]], containing the [[bishop|alt=bishop's]] throne.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something like a cathedral in grandeur or authority.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a cathedral or a bishop's throne: ''a cathedral city''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cathedrallike]]

+ * [[procathedral]]

+ * [[Cathedral City]]

+ * [[cathedral ceiling]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chair]]

+ * [[ex cathedra]]

+ * [[sit]]

+ * [[see]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}