LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

ecclēsia

ecclēsia f (genitive ecclēsiae)
Classical[ɛkˈkɫeː.si.a]Ecclesiastical[ekˈklɛː.s̬i.a]

Meaning

  1. church (a house of worship)
    Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam.And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.: 1752 CE)c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Matthew 16.18
  2. assembly (of free male citizens of Greek cities)
  3. ecclesia

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeecclēsiaecclēsiae
genitiveecclēsiaeecclēsiārum
dativeecclēsiaeecclēsiīs
accusativeecclēsiamecclēsiās
ablativeecclēsiāecclēsiīs
vocativeecclēsiaecclēsiae

ecclēsĭa (ēcclĕsĭa, Sedul. 5, 358; Venant. Carm. 3, 6, 24; and ĕclĕsĭa, Paul. Nol. Carm. 15, 117; 28, 32), ae, f., = ἐκκλησία,
I. an assembly of the (Greek) people.
I. Prop.: et ecclesia consentiente, senate and people, in the free cities of Greece: bule et ecclesia, Plin. et Traj. Ep. 111, 1. —
II. Transf.
A. In eccl. Lat.
1. A religious assembly of Christians, a Christian congregation, a church (eccl. Lat.; very freq.): die ecclesiae, etc., Vulg. Matt. 18, 17; id. Philem. 2; Aug. Ep. 190, 5, 19.—
2. The Church, the whole body of believers: Christus dilexit ecclesiam, Vulg. Eph. 5, 25: Dei, id. Phil. 3, 6; Aug. Serm. 137, 6; so, in coelo, Vulg. Heb. 12, 23.—
3. A Christian place of assembly, a church: ut nomine ecclesiae, id est populi qui continetur, significamus locum qui continet, Aug. Ep. 190, 5, 19; cf. also Amm. 21, 2 fin.; id. 28, 6 fin. —
B. An assembly, a meeting in gen., Aus. Ep. 24, 93.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁eǵʰs
  3. Proto-Hellenic*eks
  4. Ancient Greek ἐκ(ek)
  5. Ancient Greek ἐκ-(ek-)
  6. Latinecclēsia

Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-der. Ancient Greek κᾰλέω (kăléō) Ancient Greek ἐκκαλέω (ekkaléō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) Ancient Greek ἔκκλητος (ékklētos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía)bor. Latin ecclēsia Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía).

Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseigrejafrom Old Galician-Portuguese igreja
  • Portugueseigreijafrom Old Galician-Portuguese igreja
  • Portugueseegrejafrom Old Galician-Portuguese igreja
  • Portugueseeigrejafrom Old Galician-Portuguese igreja
  • Portugueseiglejafrom Old Galician-Portuguese igreja
  • Spanishiglesiafrom Old Spanish eglesia
  • Aragoneseilesiafrom Old Navarro-Aragonese iglesia
  • Asturianilesiafrom Old Leonese eglesia
  • Asturianeilesiafrom Old Leonese eglesia
  • Extremaduranigresiafrom Old Leonese eglesia
Insular Romance
  • Sardiniancheja
  • Sardinianclèsia
  • Sardiniancreja
  • Sardiniancrèsia
  • Sardiniancrèxia
Occitano-Romance
  • Catalanesglésiafrom Old Catalan esglesia
  • Occitanglèisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
  • Occitangleisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
  • Auvergnatlhèisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
  • Auvergnatglheisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
  • Vivaro-Alpinelhèisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
  • Vivaro-Alpineglhèisafrom Old Occitan gleiza
Later borrowings
  • Englishecclesia
  • Portugueseeclésia
  • Idoekleziofrom Esperanto eklezio
  • Interlinguaecclesia
Italo-Romance
  • Italianchiesa
  • Corsicanchiesa
  • Corsicanghiesgia
  • Corsicanjesgia
  • Gallureseghjésgia
  • Gallureseghjesa
  • Galluresegnesa
  • Sicilianchiesafrom Italian chiesa
  • Neapolitanchiesia
  • Neapolitanchiesa
North Italian
  • Emiliancîṡa
  • Emiliancesa
  • Emilianjesa
  • Liguriangexa
  • Lombardgesa
  • Lombardcesa
  • Lombardgesia
  • Lombardxesa
  • Occidentalgesia
  • Orientalcesa
Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalégllése
  • Franco-Provençalegleisi
  • Franco-Provençalélaise
  • Old Frencheglise
Ancient borrowings
  • Albaniankishë
  • Basqueeliza
  • Old Irisheclais
  • Proto-Brythonic*egluɨs

In English words that came into English from ecclēsia

  • cathedralecclēsia
  • ecclesiaecclēsia
  • ecclesialecclēsiālis

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesEcclesiaEcclesia (ἐκκλησία), the general assembly of the citizens at Athens, in which they met for the direct exercise of their sovereign power. Whether certa…

Quick answers

What does ecclēsia mean in Latin?
ecclēsia, a noun, means “church (a house of worship); assembly (of free male citizens of Greek cities); ecclesia”.
What is the genitive of ecclēsia?
The genitive singular is ecclēsiae. ecclēsia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce ecclēsia?
In classical Latin, [ɛkˈkɫeː.si.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ekˈklɛː.s̬i.a].
Where does ecclēsia come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ → Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs → Proto-Hellenic *eks → Ancient Greek ἐκ (ek) → Ancient Greek ἐκ- (ek-) → Latin ecclēsia.
Which English words come from ecclēsia?
English words that go back to Latin ecclēsia include cathedral, ecclesia and ecclesial.