cathedral
nounEtymology Ellipsis of cathedral church, from Middle English chirche cathederall, cathedrall chirch, calque of Late Latin ecclēsia cathedrālis (“church serving as the bishop's or archbishop's office”), from Latin ecclēsia + cathedrālis. Displaced Old English hēafodċiriċe (literally “main church, head church”).
1
The principal church serving as the office (and some as place of residence) of an archdiocese's/a diocese's archbishop/bishop which is symbolized by an episcopal throne known as the cathedra.
- The bishop presided over the ceremony from his seat in the cathedral.
2
Broadly, Informal A large or important church building.
3
Figuratively A large, impressive, lofty, and/or important building or place of some other kind.
- a cathedral of commerce
4
A large buttressed structure built by certain termites.
- Derived terms
- cathedral cactus, cathedral ceiling, cathedral church, cathedral city, Cathedral City, cathedral close, cathedraled, cathedralesque, Cathedral Falls, cathedralic, cathedralism, cathedrallike, cathedral mound, cathedral termite, Cathedraltown, co-cathedral, noncathedral, procathedral, pro-cathedral, the cathedral and the bazaar, Westminster Cathedral
- Related terms
- archdiocese, bishopric, cathedra, diocese