encyclical

Noun · Adjective
US[en-sik-lih-kuhl]/ɛnˈsɪklɪkəl/4 syllables

Open English WordNet

Noun (1)

  1. a letter from the pope sent to all Roman Catholic bishops throughout the worldSynonyms: encyclical letterType of letter, missive

Adjective (1)

  1. intended for wide distribution“an encyclical letter”Opposite concentratedSimilar distributed
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

En·cyc′lic, En·cyc′li·cal adjective

Origin: L. encyclios of a circle, general, Gr. …; … in + … circle: cf. F. encyclique. See Cycle.

Sent to many persons or places; intended for many, or for a whole order of men; general; circular; as, an encyclical letter of a council, of a bishop, or the pope.


En·cyc′lic, En·cyc′li·cal noun

An encyclical letter, esp. one from a pope. Orby Shipley

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Advertisement