Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to a church.
  • adjective Appropriate for or suggestive of a church.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining or relating to the church, or to its government, forms, or ceremonies; ecclesiastical.
  • Devoted to, or inclined to attach great importance to, the order and ritual of a particular section of the Christian church.
  • In accordance with ecclesiastical standards or ceremonies; appropriate for a church: as, a churchly building; churchly music, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to, or suitable for, the church; ecclesiastical.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Pertaining to or relating to the church, its government, forms, or ceremonies; ecclesiastical.
  • adjective Devoted to, or inclined to attach great importance to, the order and ritual of a particular section of the Christian church.
  • adjective In accordance with ecclesiatical standards or ceremonies; appropriate for or befitting a church.
  • adjective Characteristic of a church; churchy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective resembling or suggesting or appropriate to a church

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English *chircheli, from Old English ċiriċlīċ ("ecclesiastical"), equivalent to church +‎ -ly. Cognate with Scots kirklyk, kirklike ("ecclesiastical"), Dutch kerkelijk ("ecclesiastic, ecclesiastical"), German kirchlich ("ecclesiastical, religious, ecclesiastic"), Swedish kyrklig ("ecclesiastical"). Compare also churchlike.

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Examples

  • This is the kind of churchly message I can go along with.

    chicagojo Diary Entry chicagojo 2005

  • It is true that "sola scriptura" has all-too often functioned as a licence for individualism - "every man his own pope" - but it originated in a context which emphasised confession as a corporate, "churchly" activity.

    The Boar's Head Tavern 2009

  • Aaron Monts, pastor of Ikon Christian Community in San Francisco, stood before his flock on a recent Sunday, resplendent in his version of churchly garb: a tan hoodie, plaid shirt and sneakers.

    Hipsters Flock To Ikon Christian Community The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • Aaron Monts, pastor of Ikon Christian Community in San Francisco, stood before his flock on a recent Sunday, resplendent in his version of churchly garb: a tan hoodie, plaid shirt and sneakers.

    Hipsters Flock To Ikon Christian Community The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • Dan Deacon, BromstPart hippie-dippy community art project, part "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," Bromst is a dynamic, schizophrenic listen: churchly quiet a singular second, cacophonously ear-splitting a next.

    Archive 2009-12-01 admin 2009

  • It seems oddly coincidental, too, that in a movie teeming with churchly blondes, including Bethany's mother (Helen Hunt), the one meanspirited character in the movie—Bethany's rival Malina Birch (Sonya Balmores Chung)—is also the darkest of skin and blackest of hair.

    'Arthur': He Drinks, Movie Falls Down John Anderson 2011

  • They see that as part of their churchly mission, says Matthew Burbank, a political expert at the University of Utah.

    Mitt Romney leads the charge as Mormonism moves into the American mainstream 2011

  • Dan Deacon, BromstPart hippie-dippy community art project, part "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," Bromst is a dynamic, schizophrenic listen: churchly quiet a singular second, cacophonously ear-splitting a next.

    The Best Albums Of 2009, In Bigger Than The Sound | Industry Fokery admin 2009

  • Yet for all its eclecticism it builds in a single arc -- its core the long second movement, propelled upward by quasi-Minimalist rhythmic repetitions -- until the exuberant jam session is capped by the churchly sobriety of the orchestral idiom, returning as if to remind everyone of where they are, though more focusing the mood than interrupting it.

    In performance: NSO and Yo-Yo Ma 2010

  • Also, my mom adored him, so she would probably support the union somewhere deep down under her churchly morals.

    Kiss It Erin Downing 2010

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