adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- nondiocesan adjective
Etymology
Origin of diocesan
1400–50; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin dioecēsānus. See diocese, -an
Explanation
Anything diocesan relates to a diocese, which is an area that a senior Catholic priest is in charge of. You might see it in phrases like “diocesan newspapers,” “diocesan policies,” or “diocesan officials.” If you hear this word rather than see it, its relationship to its root (diocese) may not be obvious because of the shift in stress. Diocesan is simply the adjective of diocese, the territorial jurisdiction of a Catholic bishop. The immediate root is from a Latin word for an “administrative division,” and that meaning is still important. All diocesan affairs relate to how the diocese is organized and run by Catholic officials and clergy under the bishop.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When the state Justices originally denied the unemployment tax exemption to a diocesan Catholic Charities Bureau and its associated groups, the 4-3 majority called their activities “secular in nature.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
McQuaide grew up near Green Township and attended Cincinnati Elder High, an all-male Catholic diocesan school within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati founded in 1912.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025
Archdeacon Pierpoint is hopeful the groups can return soon once permission is granted by the diocesan authorities and Dublin City Council for reinternment.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2025
In addition to many diocesan assets, the government confiscated the prestigious University of Central America, whose Jesuit leaders had opened the doors to student protestors fleeing police and paramilitary attacks.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 11, 2024
Dissensions between the Bishop of Manila and the friars who refused to submit to his diocesan visit.
From The Inhabitants of the Philippines by Sawyer, Frederic H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
