An Attempt To Date
The Church
G.D.O'Bradovich III
October , 2014
Courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary:
Forms:
α.
eOE ciirice, eOE ciricican (dative singular, transmission error), OE cierece, OE cierice, OE cirece, OE cirica (Northumbrian), OE ciryce, OE cyrcicum (dative plural, transmission error), OE cyrrice (rare), OE cyryc- (in compounds), OE cyryce, OE kyrice (rare), OE (eME in copy of OE charter) cirice, OE–eME ciric- (in compounds), OE (rare)–eME cyrece, OE–eME cyric- (in compounds), OE–eMEcyrice,
lOE ceric- (in compounds),
eME chereche (south-east.), eME cherich- (in compounds), eME cheriche (south-east., in copy of OE charter), eME chireche, eME chiric- (in compounds), eME chirice, eME chiriche, eME chirreche, eME chureche (south-west midl.), eME churiche (south-west midl.), eME chyreche.
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xxi. 20 (23)
In medio ecclesiae laudabo te : in midle cirican ic hergo ðe.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 115
He onfeng ðone ealdordom ðære halgan ciericean.
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 874,
His lic liþ on Sancta Marian ciricean [lOE Laud cyrican].
OE Blickling Homilies 197
Is seo halige cirice Michaeles geseted on þæm hean cnolle sumes muntes.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 18
Þu eart Petrus & ofer þisne stan ic timbrige mine cyricean.
OE Wulfstan Canons of Edgar (Corpus Cambr.) (1972) xxvi. 6
We lærað þæt preostas cirican healdan mid ealre arwurðnesse to godcundre þenunge.
a1225 (▸?a1200) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 (MED),
Þe lorðewes of holie chireche..sewen ȝerneluker þe defles sed þan ure louerdes.
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218
Fram holi chereche.
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11034
He rærde churechen [c1300 Otho cherches].
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8120
Chiriches [c1300 Otho chirches] fur-barnde.
a1300 (▸?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Jesus Oxf.) 115 (MED),
At chepynge and at chyreche freond þu þe iwurche.
β.
eOE circce, OE cerc- (in compounds), OE cerce, OE cierce, OE circ- (in compounds), OE circian (accusative singular), OE cycean(inflected form, transmission error), OE cyran (inflected form, transmission error), OE cyrc- (in compounds), OE cyrca (rare), OEcyrcian (dative singular), OE cyrrce (rare), OE cyrre (transmission error),
OE–eME circe, OE–eME cyrce,
eME cheorche (south-west midl.), eME chierche, eME chirc- (in compounds), eME chircce, eME chircche, eME chirce, eME chirthe, eME chyrce, eME cirke (in copy of OE charter), eME curche, eME cyrcce, eME cyrche (in copy of OE charter),
ME cherge, ME chirge, ME chuche (perh. transmission error), ME cirche (in compounds),
ME–16 cherch, ME–16 cherche, ME–16 chirch, ME–16 chirche, ME–16 chyrch, ME–16 chyrche,
ME–17 churche, ME– church,
lME chyrge, lME schyrsche, lME scryssche, lME–15 chorche, lME–15 churg, lME–15 churge,
15 chvrche, 15 cyrch, 15 scherche,
15–16 chorch, 15–16 chuch,
16 charch, 16 chruch, 16 churtche, 16 corch, 16 courch, 16 surch (in representations of Welsh English);
Eng. regional 18 choorch, 18– chech, 18– choch, 18– chorch, 18– chu'ch,
19– chetch, 19–chuch;
eOE (Kentish) Codex Aureus Inscription, Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1204a) in D. Whitelock Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader(1967) 205
Inn to Cristes circan.
OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xvi. 18
Super hanc petram aedificabo æclessiam meam : on þæm petra uel stane ic getimbre mine circae.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xviii. 317
On ðone timan þe gelamp on anre byrig..micel eorðstyrung & feollon cyrcan & hus.
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 275
Ęcclesię : cercan.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) xvi. 18
Cyrcean [OE Corpus Cambr. ofer þisne stan ic timbrige mine cyricean].
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1127,
On þone lententide wæs se eorl Karle of Flandres ofslagen on ane circe.
lOE Canterbury Psalter xxi. 26
In ecclesia magna : on þere miclæn ciercæn.
c1200 (▸OE) West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Hatton) xvi. 18
Ich getymbrie mine chyrcan.
a1225 (▸?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 23 (MED),
Þu gast to chirche.
a1225 (▸?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 237
Þe hafedmen þe nu beoð in halie cyrce.
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8125
Chirchen [c1300 Otho cherches] ich wulle arære.
a1300 (▸OE) Writ of Edward the Confessor, Westminster (Sawyer 1129) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 204
Mid cirke [a1325 Westminster circe] and mid milne.
c1325 (▸c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10279 (MED),
Vor to deie vor holi churche, oþer amende þat was amis.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17822 (MED),
To her chirche þei gon hem lede.
▸1440 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 75
Chyrche.
a1500 (▸?c1450) Merlin (1899) xxv. 453
The goode archebisshoppe entred in to the chirche.
a1500 (▸?c1450) Merlin (1899) xxv. 467
The servise at cherche.
1544 G. Joye Present Consol. Sufferers Persecucion Pref. sig. A.viij,
The first chirche whiche consisted of Adam Eue Cain & Abel.
1616 in H. Spelman De non temerandis Ecclesiis 49
Of this word..commeth the Saxon word Cyric or Kyrk: and (by adding a double aspiration to it) our vsuall word Chyrch or Church.
1722 D. Defoe Relig. Courtship App. i. 303
Whether I went to the church, or to the Meeting-house; to the Quakers Meeting, or to the Mass-house.
See also kirk n.
Etymology:
Cognate with
Old Frisian tzerke , tzerk , tzierke , tzark , tziurke , kerke (West Frisian tsjerke ),
Old Dutch kirika , kerk (only recorded in a place name and a derivative;
Middle Dutch kirke , kerke , keerke , kerk , Dutch kerk ),
Old Saxon kerika , kirika (Middle Low German kerke , karke ),
Old High German kirihha , khirihha , chiricha , also (with dissimilation) chilihha ,
chīlihha (Middle High German kirche , also kilche , German Kirche ),
probably < a variant of Byzantine Greek κυριακόν (4th cent. a.d.), use as noun (probably short for κυριακὸν δῶμα , lit. ‘house of the Lord’) of κυριακόν , neuter of Hellenistic Greek κυριακός (adjective) ‘of the Lord, dominical’ < ancient Greek κύριος lord (see Kyrie eleison n.) + -ακός -ac suffix.
The place and time of borrowing have been the subject of much controversy, since the usual words (borrowed from Greek) for ‘church’ in the western part of the Roman Empire and hence reflected in the modern Romance languages (and in Celtic) were classical Latinecclēsia ecclesia n. (in its post-classical Latin senses) and (to a lesser extent) basilica basilica n. According to most modern views, the word was probably borrowed early into West Germanic from the ecclesiastical usage of the Christian communities of the colonial cities of the Rhine area. The Greek noun is well attested in eastern sources during the early 4th cent., and was probably current also in the use of the early Christian church in the Rhine area, where Greek models were influential. As a word for a very basic part of the material culture of the Christian faith it was probably well known even to pagan Germanic peoples bordering the imperial frontiers, and to those encountering Christian peoples in both the Roman and post-Roman periods. Subsequent transmission among the West Germanic varieties cannot be traced at this time depth.
The forms in the West Germanic languages apparently ultimately reflect a form with early substitution of i for the vowel in the first syllable and reduction of the medial syllable of the Greek word to i . With the latter perhaps compare Byzantine Greek Κύρικος , Κυρικόςas a personal name (6th cent.). However, there appears to be no continuity or direct connection between the late Roman use and post-classical Latin kyrica , kirica (from the early 9th cent. in German sources), which is almost certainly borrowed from Old High German or Old Saxon.
The word is a (weak) feminine in the West Germanic languages (including Old English); various explanations have been given for this change of gender, including the existence of a parallel feminine form κυριακή in Greek (in fact recorded in the sense ‘church’ only from the 11th cent.; occasionally cited in British and continental post-classical Latin sources from the 12th cent.; compare also quot. a1225 at sense A. 1a), or association with post-classical Latin basilica or its etymon Hellenistic Greek βασιλική in this meaning (see basilica n.), or perhaps borrowing of the Greek (neuter) plural κυριακά wrongly identified as a Latin feminine singular in -a.
In each of the West Germanic languages the word probably originally denoted a church as physical building (as in Greek), but was early extended to denote also the church as an institution and as a body of worshippers, probably after the range of meanings of post-classical Latin ecclesia and its etymon ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (as used in Hellenistic Greek). Application to the holy buildings of other faiths is also found in various other early Germanic languages.
The corresponding words in North Germanic languages probably all ultimately reflect borrowing from English; compare Old Icelandic kirkja , Old Swedishkyrkia , kirkia (Swedish kyrka ), Old Danish kirkæ , kirkiæ , kyrkæ , kyrkiæ (Danish kirke ). Borrowings from North Germanic languages are shown by Finnishkirkko , Estonian kirik , Old Prussian kīrkā .
Compare also the Slavonic forms, all of which ultimately reflect borrowing from Germanic languages: Old Church Slavonic crĭky , cirŭky , Russian cerkov′ , Polish cerkiew (now only denoting an Eastern Orthodox church), Czech církev , Upper Sorbian cyrkej , Lower Sorbian cerkwja , Bulgarian cărkva , Serbian and Croatian crkva , Slovene cerkev .
For references to the extensive (recent and older) scholarship on this topic see especially A. H. Feulner Die griechischen Lehnwörter im Altenglischen (2000) 185–8.
The Latin equivalent of κυριακόν , dominicum , was also in use at least from the time of Cyprian (3rd cent.) in the sense ‘the house of God’. To a certain extent it was adopted in Early Irish, where domnach became a frequent element in the names of churches (Irish Domhnach , English Donagh- , Dona- ), although it is rare in this sense as a common noun (compare Early Irish domnach Sunday (Irish Domhnach )).
In Old English a weak feminine; occasional oblique forms showing loss of final -n are chiefly Northumbrian or late. The Old English word shows regular palatalization and assibilation of the initial consonant before i and of the stem-final consonant between i and the front vowel of the nominative singular ending. Spellings such as (inflected form) ciricean show that the assibilated consonant is often analogically extended to the inflected forms already in early West Saxon (compare quots. eOE2, eOE3 at α. forms). The northern and Scots variant kirk n., although perhaps reflecting a form with failure of palatalization and assibilation in Old English (compare the rare form kyrice at α. forms), is probably more likely to show sound substitution resulting from the influence of the corresponding form in early Scandinavian or even direct borrowing of the early Scandinavian word (compare Old Icelandic kirkja and see discussion at kirkn.).
The β. forms show syncope of the unstressed medial vowel after short initial syllable ending in a liquid consonant, a sound change that occurs sporadically in Old English (see R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §6.67 note 2).
Old English forms such as cyrice (see α. forms), cyrce (see β. forms) and perhaps also forms such as cierice , cierce reflect rounding (or perhaps laxing) of ibefore r (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §318, and compare R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§5.170–2); proof of rounding is shown by the Middle English reflexes. In early Middle English the combined influence of the following r and the palatal affricate caused retraction of y (the result of late rounding of i in Old English) to u (compare early Middle English churiche at α. forms, churche at β. forms); see R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §§42 note 1, 43.2. Forms such as Old English cerce , Middle English cherche (see β. forms), on the other hand, chiefly represent the south-eastern reflex of Old English y . The evidence of orthoepists shows reflexes of both Middle English u and Middle English i in the early modern English standard (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §82). For a word showing similar phonological developments compare churn n.
Pronunciations that reflect loss of /r/ (see β. forms) are found in regional use from a wide range of English counties; for limited evidence from the early modern period see A. A. Hill in Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc. 55 (1955) 325 (rare examples from late Middle English may show scribal errors).
The word is attested early in boundary markers in charters, is frequent as an element in minor names and field names (especially in the names of individual churches), and also appears early as an element in place names (i.e. settlement names). As a place name element, it sometimes seems to refer to less significant church buildings, as contrasted with names containing minster n. Compare:
eOE (Kentish) Will of Badanoð Beotting (Sawyer 1510) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 10 To ðere stowe æt Cristes cirican [= Christchurch, Canterbury].
OE Will of King Ælfred (Sawyer 1507) in F. E. Harmer
Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 17 Æt Crucern & æt Hwitancyrican [= Whitchurch] & æt Axanmuðan.
OE Bounds (Sawyer 1003) in D. Hooke Pre-Conquest Charter-bounds Devon & Cornwall (1994) 204
Swa eft ongean be þam sealternon on þa stræte on west healfe michaheles ciricean [= St Michael's, Dawlish].
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) (Mercian register) anno 915,
Ðæs oþre geare on ufan midne winter þa æt Cyricbyrig [= Chirbury, Shropshire].
A. n.1
I. A building for public worship, or the worship performed there.
1
a. A building for public Christian worship or rites such as baptism, marriage, etc., traditionally cruciform in shape, and typically having a tower, dome, or spire; distinguished originally from an oratory or place of private prayer.A church may also be distinguished from a basilica, cathedral, meeting house, etc., typically in terms of size, architecture, or use, although church over the course of the 20th cent. became generally extended to most places of Christian worship except in specific contexts. For the distinction between church and chapel see sense A. 1c.
collegiate, Our Lady, town church, etc.: see the first element. See also parish church n.
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) v. §1. 52
Ðæt [sc. a building serving as sanctuary] næbbe ðon ma dura þonne sio cirice.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xviii. 317
On ðone timan þe gelamp on anre byrig..micel eorðstyrung & feollon cyrcan & hus.
lOE Laws of Wihtræd (Rochester) ii. 12
Ciricean mundbyrd sie l scillinga swa cinges.
a1225 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 23
Ich leue þat chireche is holi godes hus on eorðe, and is cleped on boc kiriaca .i. dominicalis, þat is on englis louerdlich hus.
c1325 (▸c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7834
Chirchen he let rere al so.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 43 (MED), Þe zenne of ham þet berneþ..cherchen.
▸c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1987) 244 (MED),
Þe bodili hous of þe chirche wiþ alle þe ornamentis þerynne.
a1500 J. Warkworth Chron. (1839) 17
To be layede in the chyrche of Paulis.
1532 R. Whittington tr. Erasmus De Ciuilitate Morun Puerilium sig. B.4/2,
As ofte as thou comest by a churche do of thy cap and make curtesye, and thy face turned towarde the sacrament, salute with reuerence Christe & holy sayntes.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes sig. Bb.ii,
The materiall Church..is a place appoynted..for the people of God to resorte together vnto.
1633 G. Herbert Church Porch in Temple lxviii,
When once thy foot enters the Church, be bare.
1659 S. Carrington Hist. Life & Death Oliver 24
The Murderers..retired themselves into a Church, which in Spain is a Sanctuary which the Justice ought not to violate.
1712 H. Prideaux Direct. Church-wardens (ed. 4) 81
The Nave or Body of the Church.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. ix. vi. 352
Some Folks..used indeed to doubt whether they were lawfully married in a Church or no.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 12
The decent church that topp'd the neighb'ring hill.
Forms:
α.
eOE ciirice, eOE ciricican (dative singular, transmission error), OE cierece, OE cierice, OE cirece, OE cirica (Northumbrian), OE ciryce, OE cyrcicum (dative plural, transmission error), OE cyrrice (rare), OE cyryc- (in compounds), OE cyryce, OE kyrice (rare), OE (eME in copy of OE charter) cirice, OE–eME ciric- (in compounds), OE (rare)–eME cyrece, OE–eME cyric- (in compounds), OE–eMEcyrice,
lOE ceric- (in compounds),
eME chereche (south-east.), eME cherich- (in compounds), eME cheriche (south-east., in copy of OE charter), eME chireche, eME chiric- (in compounds), eME chirice, eME chiriche, eME chirreche, eME chureche (south-west midl.), eME churiche (south-west midl.), eME chyreche.
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xxi. 20 (23)
In medio ecclesiae laudabo te : in midle cirican ic hergo ðe.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 115
He onfeng ðone ealdordom ðære halgan ciericean.
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 874,
His lic liþ on Sancta Marian ciricean [lOE Laud cyrican].
OE Blickling Homilies 197
Is seo halige cirice Michaeles geseted on þæm hean cnolle sumes muntes.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 18
Þu eart Petrus & ofer þisne stan ic timbrige mine cyricean.
OE Wulfstan Canons of Edgar (Corpus Cambr.) (1972) xxvi. 6
We lærað þæt preostas cirican healdan mid ealre arwurðnesse to godcundre þenunge.
a1225 (▸?a1200) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 (MED),
Þe lorðewes of holie chireche..sewen ȝerneluker þe defles sed þan ure louerdes.
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218
Fram holi chereche.
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11034
He rærde churechen [c1300 Otho cherches].
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8120
Chiriches [c1300 Otho chirches] fur-barnde.
a1300 (▸?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Jesus Oxf.) 115 (MED),
At chepynge and at chyreche freond þu þe iwurche.
β.
eOE circce, OE cerc- (in compounds), OE cerce, OE cierce, OE circ- (in compounds), OE circian (accusative singular), OE cycean(inflected form, transmission error), OE cyran (inflected form, transmission error), OE cyrc- (in compounds), OE cyrca (rare), OEcyrcian (dative singular), OE cyrrce (rare), OE cyrre (transmission error),
OE–eME circe, OE–eME cyrce,
eME cheorche (south-west midl.), eME chierche, eME chirc- (in compounds), eME chircce, eME chircche, eME chirce, eME chirthe, eME chyrce, eME cirke (in copy of OE charter), eME curche, eME cyrcce, eME cyrche (in copy of OE charter),
ME cherge, ME chirge, ME chuche (perh. transmission error), ME cirche (in compounds),
ME–16 cherch, ME–16 cherche, ME–16 chirch, ME–16 chirche, ME–16 chyrch, ME–16 chyrche,
ME–17 churche, ME– church,
lME chyrge, lME schyrsche, lME scryssche, lME–15 chorche, lME–15 churg, lME–15 churge,
15 chvrche, 15 cyrch, 15 scherche,
15–16 chorch, 15–16 chuch,
16 charch, 16 chruch, 16 churtche, 16 corch, 16 courch, 16 surch (in representations of Welsh English);
Eng. regional 18 choorch, 18– chech, 18– choch, 18– chorch, 18– chu'ch,
19– chetch, 19–chuch;
eOE (Kentish) Codex Aureus Inscription, Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1204a) in D. Whitelock Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader(1967) 205
Inn to Cristes circan.
OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xvi. 18
Super hanc petram aedificabo æclessiam meam : on þæm petra uel stane ic getimbre mine circae.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xviii. 317
On ðone timan þe gelamp on anre byrig..micel eorðstyrung & feollon cyrcan & hus.
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 275
Ęcclesię : cercan.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) xvi. 18
Cyrcean [OE Corpus Cambr. ofer þisne stan ic timbrige mine cyricean].
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1127,
On þone lententide wæs se eorl Karle of Flandres ofslagen on ane circe.
lOE Canterbury Psalter xxi. 26
In ecclesia magna : on þere miclæn ciercæn.
c1200 (▸OE) West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Hatton) xvi. 18
Ich getymbrie mine chyrcan.
a1225 (▸?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 23 (MED),
Þu gast to chirche.
a1225 (▸?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 237
Þe hafedmen þe nu beoð in halie cyrce.
c1275 (▸?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8125
Chirchen [c1300 Otho cherches] ich wulle arære.
a1300 (▸OE) Writ of Edward the Confessor, Westminster (Sawyer 1129) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 204
Mid cirke [a1325 Westminster circe] and mid milne.
c1325 (▸c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10279 (MED),
Vor to deie vor holi churche, oþer amende þat was amis.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17822 (MED),
To her chirche þei gon hem lede.
▸1440 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 75
Chyrche.
a1500 (▸?c1450) Merlin (1899) xxv. 453
The goode archebisshoppe entred in to the chirche.
a1500 (▸?c1450) Merlin (1899) xxv. 467
The servise at cherche.
1544 G. Joye Present Consol. Sufferers Persecucion Pref. sig. A.viij,
The first chirche whiche consisted of Adam Eue Cain & Abel.
1616 in H. Spelman De non temerandis Ecclesiis 49
Of this word..commeth the Saxon word Cyric or Kyrk: and (by adding a double aspiration to it) our vsuall word Chyrch or Church.
1722 D. Defoe Relig. Courtship App. i. 303
Whether I went to the church, or to the Meeting-house; to the Quakers Meeting, or to the Mass-house.
See also kirk n.
Etymology:
Cognate with
Old Frisian tzerke , tzerk , tzierke , tzark , tziurke , kerke (West Frisian tsjerke ),
Old Dutch kirika , kerk (only recorded in a place name and a derivative;
Middle Dutch kirke , kerke , keerke , kerk , Dutch kerk ),
Old Saxon kerika , kirika (Middle Low German kerke , karke ),
Old High German kirihha , khirihha , chiricha , also (with dissimilation) chilihha ,
chīlihha (Middle High German kirche , also kilche , German Kirche ),
probably < a variant of Byzantine Greek κυριακόν (4th cent. a.d.), use as noun (probably short for κυριακὸν δῶμα , lit. ‘house of the Lord’) of κυριακόν , neuter of Hellenistic Greek κυριακός (adjective) ‘of the Lord, dominical’ < ancient Greek κύριος lord (see Kyrie eleison n.) + -ακός -ac suffix.
The place and time of borrowing have been the subject of much controversy, since the usual words (borrowed from Greek) for ‘church’ in the western part of the Roman Empire and hence reflected in the modern Romance languages (and in Celtic) were classical Latinecclēsia ecclesia n. (in its post-classical Latin senses) and (to a lesser extent) basilica basilica n. According to most modern views, the word was probably borrowed early into West Germanic from the ecclesiastical usage of the Christian communities of the colonial cities of the Rhine area. The Greek noun is well attested in eastern sources during the early 4th cent., and was probably current also in the use of the early Christian church in the Rhine area, where Greek models were influential. As a word for a very basic part of the material culture of the Christian faith it was probably well known even to pagan Germanic peoples bordering the imperial frontiers, and to those encountering Christian peoples in both the Roman and post-Roman periods. Subsequent transmission among the West Germanic varieties cannot be traced at this time depth.
The forms in the West Germanic languages apparently ultimately reflect a form with early substitution of i for the vowel in the first syllable and reduction of the medial syllable of the Greek word to i . With the latter perhaps compare Byzantine Greek Κύρικος , Κυρικόςas a personal name (6th cent.). However, there appears to be no continuity or direct connection between the late Roman use and post-classical Latin kyrica , kirica (from the early 9th cent. in German sources), which is almost certainly borrowed from Old High German or Old Saxon.
The word is a (weak) feminine in the West Germanic languages (including Old English); various explanations have been given for this change of gender, including the existence of a parallel feminine form κυριακή in Greek (in fact recorded in the sense ‘church’ only from the 11th cent.; occasionally cited in British and continental post-classical Latin sources from the 12th cent.; compare also quot. a1225 at sense A. 1a), or association with post-classical Latin basilica or its etymon Hellenistic Greek βασιλική in this meaning (see basilica n.), or perhaps borrowing of the Greek (neuter) plural κυριακά wrongly identified as a Latin feminine singular in -a.
In each of the West Germanic languages the word probably originally denoted a church as physical building (as in Greek), but was early extended to denote also the church as an institution and as a body of worshippers, probably after the range of meanings of post-classical Latin ecclesia and its etymon ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (as used in Hellenistic Greek). Application to the holy buildings of other faiths is also found in various other early Germanic languages.
The corresponding words in North Germanic languages probably all ultimately reflect borrowing from English; compare Old Icelandic kirkja , Old Swedishkyrkia , kirkia (Swedish kyrka ), Old Danish kirkæ , kirkiæ , kyrkæ , kyrkiæ (Danish kirke ). Borrowings from North Germanic languages are shown by Finnishkirkko , Estonian kirik , Old Prussian kīrkā .
Compare also the Slavonic forms, all of which ultimately reflect borrowing from Germanic languages: Old Church Slavonic crĭky , cirŭky , Russian cerkov′ , Polish cerkiew (now only denoting an Eastern Orthodox church), Czech církev , Upper Sorbian cyrkej , Lower Sorbian cerkwja , Bulgarian cărkva , Serbian and Croatian crkva , Slovene cerkev .
For references to the extensive (recent and older) scholarship on this topic see especially A. H. Feulner Die griechischen Lehnwörter im Altenglischen (2000) 185–8.
The Latin equivalent of κυριακόν , dominicum , was also in use at least from the time of Cyprian (3rd cent.) in the sense ‘the house of God’. To a certain extent it was adopted in Early Irish, where domnach became a frequent element in the names of churches (Irish Domhnach , English Donagh- , Dona- ), although it is rare in this sense as a common noun (compare Early Irish domnach Sunday (Irish Domhnach )).
In Old English a weak feminine; occasional oblique forms showing loss of final -n are chiefly Northumbrian or late. The Old English word shows regular palatalization and assibilation of the initial consonant before i and of the stem-final consonant between i and the front vowel of the nominative singular ending. Spellings such as (inflected form) ciricean show that the assibilated consonant is often analogically extended to the inflected forms already in early West Saxon (compare quots. eOE2, eOE3 at α. forms). The northern and Scots variant kirk n., although perhaps reflecting a form with failure of palatalization and assibilation in Old English (compare the rare form kyrice at α. forms), is probably more likely to show sound substitution resulting from the influence of the corresponding form in early Scandinavian or even direct borrowing of the early Scandinavian word (compare Old Icelandic kirkja and see discussion at kirkn.).
The β. forms show syncope of the unstressed medial vowel after short initial syllable ending in a liquid consonant, a sound change that occurs sporadically in Old English (see R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §6.67 note 2).
Old English forms such as cyrice (see α. forms), cyrce (see β. forms) and perhaps also forms such as cierice , cierce reflect rounding (or perhaps laxing) of ibefore r (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §318, and compare R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§5.170–2); proof of rounding is shown by the Middle English reflexes. In early Middle English the combined influence of the following r and the palatal affricate caused retraction of y (the result of late rounding of i in Old English) to u (compare early Middle English churiche at α. forms, churche at β. forms); see R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §§42 note 1, 43.2. Forms such as Old English cerce , Middle English cherche (see β. forms), on the other hand, chiefly represent the south-eastern reflex of Old English y . The evidence of orthoepists shows reflexes of both Middle English u and Middle English i in the early modern English standard (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §82). For a word showing similar phonological developments compare churn n.
Pronunciations that reflect loss of /r/ (see β. forms) are found in regional use from a wide range of English counties; for limited evidence from the early modern period see A. A. Hill in Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc. 55 (1955) 325 (rare examples from late Middle English may show scribal errors).
The word is attested early in boundary markers in charters, is frequent as an element in minor names and field names (especially in the names of individual churches), and also appears early as an element in place names (i.e. settlement names). As a place name element, it sometimes seems to refer to less significant church buildings, as contrasted with names containing minster n. Compare:
eOE (Kentish) Will of Badanoð Beotting (Sawyer 1510) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 10 To ðere stowe æt Cristes cirican [= Christchurch, Canterbury].
OE Will of King Ælfred (Sawyer 1507) in F. E. Harmer
Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 17 Æt Crucern & æt Hwitancyrican [= Whitchurch] & æt Axanmuðan.
OE Bounds (Sawyer 1003) in D. Hooke Pre-Conquest Charter-bounds Devon & Cornwall (1994) 204
Swa eft ongean be þam sealternon on þa stræte on west healfe michaheles ciricean [= St Michael's, Dawlish].
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) (Mercian register) anno 915,
Ðæs oþre geare on ufan midne winter þa æt Cyricbyrig [= Chirbury, Shropshire].
A. n.1
I. A building for public worship, or the worship performed there.
1
a. A building for public Christian worship or rites such as baptism, marriage, etc., traditionally cruciform in shape, and typically having a tower, dome, or spire; distinguished originally from an oratory or place of private prayer.A church may also be distinguished from a basilica, cathedral, meeting house, etc., typically in terms of size, architecture, or use, although church over the course of the 20th cent. became generally extended to most places of Christian worship except in specific contexts. For the distinction between church and chapel see sense A. 1c.
collegiate, Our Lady, town church, etc.: see the first element. See also parish church n.
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) v. §1. 52
Ðæt [sc. a building serving as sanctuary] næbbe ðon ma dura þonne sio cirice.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xviii. 317
On ðone timan þe gelamp on anre byrig..micel eorðstyrung & feollon cyrcan & hus.
lOE Laws of Wihtræd (Rochester) ii. 12
Ciricean mundbyrd sie l scillinga swa cinges.
a1225 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 23
Ich leue þat chireche is holi godes hus on eorðe, and is cleped on boc kiriaca .i. dominicalis, þat is on englis louerdlich hus.
c1325 (▸c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7834
Chirchen he let rere al so.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 43 (MED), Þe zenne of ham þet berneþ..cherchen.
▸c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1987) 244 (MED),
Þe bodili hous of þe chirche wiþ alle þe ornamentis þerynne.
a1500 J. Warkworth Chron. (1839) 17
To be layede in the chyrche of Paulis.
1532 R. Whittington tr. Erasmus De Ciuilitate Morun Puerilium sig. B.4/2,
As ofte as thou comest by a churche do of thy cap and make curtesye, and thy face turned towarde the sacrament, salute with reuerence Christe & holy sayntes.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes sig. Bb.ii,
The materiall Church..is a place appoynted..for the people of God to resorte together vnto.
1633 G. Herbert Church Porch in Temple lxviii,
When once thy foot enters the Church, be bare.
1659 S. Carrington Hist. Life & Death Oliver 24
The Murderers..retired themselves into a Church, which in Spain is a Sanctuary which the Justice ought not to violate.
1712 H. Prideaux Direct. Church-wardens (ed. 4) 81
The Nave or Body of the Church.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. ix. vi. 352
Some Folks..used indeed to doubt whether they were lawfully married in a Church or no.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 12
The decent church that topp'd the neighb'ring hill.