ecumenical

C2+ Topic:Religion & Belief

Also spelled oecumenical

US /ˌɛkjəˈmɛnɪkəl/ UK /ˌiːkjuːˈmɛnɪkəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
promoting unity among Christian churches; universal in scope

The conference brought leaders together in an ecumenical spirit.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · promoting unity among... universal generalinterdenominationalcatholic worldwide comprehensive

Opposites

sectarian parochialdenominational

Word family

Derived forms ecumenicallyecumenicalism

Related forms ecumenismecumene

Etymology

From Late Latin oecumenicus, from Ancient Greek oikoumenikós ('of the whole inhabited world'), from oikouménē ('the inhabited world'), from oikeîn ('to inhabit'), from oîkos ('house').

oikoumenikós Ancient Greek oikouménē Ancient Greek oîkos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Religion & Belief Word Formation & Derivatives

# ecumenical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌɛkjəˈmɛnɪkəl
**IPA (UK):** ˌiːkjuːˈmɛnɪkəl

## Meanings
1. promoting unity among Christian churches; universal in scope

## Examples
- The conference brought leaders together in an ecumenical spirit.

## Synonyms
- universal
- general
- interdenominational
- catholic
- worldwide
- comprehensive

## Antonyms
- sectarian
- parochial
- denominational

## Derived Forms
- ecumenically
- ecumenicalism

## Related Forms
- ecumenism
- ecumene

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: oikoumenikós
- Root: oikouménē
- Root: oîkos

## Etymology
From Late Latin oecumenicus, from Ancient Greek oikoumenikós ('of the whole inhabited world'), from oikouménē ('the inhabited world'), from oikeîn ('to inhabit'), from oîkos ('house').

## AI Etymology
Ecumenical comes from Late Latin oecumenicus, from Ancient Greek oikoumenikós ('of the whole inhabited world'), from oikouménē ('the inhabited world'), from oikeîn ('to inhabit'), from oîkos ('house'). The etymological trail includes Ancient Greek oikoumenikós, Ancient Greek oikouménē, and Ancient Greek oîkos. As an adjective, ecumenical describes what is promoting unity among Christian churches; universal in scope. The same family is visible in derived forms such as ecumenically and ecumenicalism and related forms such as ecumenism and ecumene.

## Topics
- Religion & Belief
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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