CATHOLIC • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Catholic

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/kˈæθlɪk/ Listen

adjective

Catholic adj.

1.

Universal or general; as, the catholic faith. "Men of other countries (came) to bear their part in so great and catholic a war." Note: This epithet, which is applicable to the whole Christian church, or its faith, is claimed by Roman Catholics to belong especially to their church, and in popular usage is so limited.

2.

Not narrow-minded, partial, or bigoted; liberal; as, catholic tastes.

3.

Of or pertaining to, or affecting the Roman Catholics; as, the Catholic emancipation act.

Catholic epistles, the epistles of the apostles which are addressed to all the faithful, and not to a particular church; being those of James, Peter, Jude, and John.

noun

Catholic n.

1.

A person who accepts the creeds which are received in common by all parts of the orthodox Christian church.

2.

An adherent of the Roman Catholic church; a Roman Catholic.

Old Catholic, the name assumed in 1870 by members of the Roman Catholic church, who denied the ecumenical character of the Vatican Council, and rejected its decrees, esp. that concerning the infallibility of the pope, as contrary to the ancient Catholic faith.

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Etymology of 'Catholic'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Catholic" Quotes from Famous Books

... apostleship he far'd, Like torrent bursting from a lofty vein; And, dashing 'gainst the stocks of heresy, Smote fiercest, where resistance was most stout. Thence many rivulets have since been turn'd, Over the garden Catholic to lead Their living waters, ...

— The Divine Comedy, Complete - The Vision of Paradise, Purgatory and Hell • Dante Alighieri

... so strange as its seems, for the Assamese variety has pseudo-bulbs much less sturdy than those we are used to see, and they are quite pendulous. It was rather a lively business collecting orchids in Burmah before the annexation. The Roman Catholic missionaries established there made it a source of income, and they did not greet an intruding stranger with warmth—not genial warmth, at least. He was forbidden to quit the town of Bhamo, an edict which compelled ...

— About Orchids - A Chat • Frederick Boyle

... congregation of wretchedness. I fear I shall betray my partiality if I should candidly write down my observations on this subject. We Americans are taught from our infancy not only to believe, but to think, compare and hold fast that which we find to be good. It seems to me that the Roman Catholic religion takes all the trouble of thinking and examining from off the mind of their believers. It is a scheme of rules and discipline not very unlike that of the military, and its punishments horrible. The Episcopal church of England ...

— A Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, 2nd ed. • Benjamin Waterhouse

... voice. It was an old Spanish bell, Aunt Mercy told me. How it reached Barmouth she did not know. I recognized its complaining voice afterward. It told me it could never forget it had been baptized a Catholic; and it pined for the beggar who rang it in the land of fan-leaved chestnuts! It would growl and strangle as much as possible in the hands of Benjamin Beals, the bell-ringer and coffin-maker of Barmouth. ...

— The Morgesons • Elizabeth Stoddard

... singing forget they are weary and wayworn, So with songs on their lips the Acadian peasants descended Down from the church to the shore, amid their wives and their daughters. Foremost the young men came; and, raising together their voices, Sang with tremulous lips a chant of the Catholic Missions:— "Sacred heart of the Saviour! O inexhaustible fountain! Fill our hearts this day with strength and submission and patience!" Then the old men, as they marched, and the women that stood by the wayside Joined in the sacred psalm, and ...

— The Children's Own Longfellow • Henry W. Longfellow

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