parishioner

noun

pa·​rish·​ion·​er pə-ˈri-sh(ə-)nər How to pronounce parishioner (audio)
: a member or inhabitant of a parish

Examples of parishioner in a Sentence

the parishioners of First Baptist Church
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At San Pablo, church officials suspected that two objects had been taken during an evening Mass, while parishioners were facing the altar. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Church officials in Argentina, the homeland of Leo's predecessor Pope Francis, urged parishioners to put the pontiff's well-being ahead of their excitement over the country’s first papal visit in four decades. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Most Holy Redeemer was closed last August, with little explanation from the Archdiocese of New York outside of a priest shortage and slight structural damage to its ceiling, parishioners and church leaders said. — New York Times, 11 Oct. 2026 The kids went back out to play, and DeWees, who’s referred to as Mama Kelly by the parishioners, leaned close to me. — Oliver Whang, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for parishioner

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parisshoner, probably modification of Anglo-French parochien, from paroche

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parishioner was in the 15th century

Rhymes for parishioner

See All Rhymes for parishioner

Browse Nearby Words

parishional
parishioner
parish lantern
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Parishioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parishioner. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

parishioner

noun
pa·​rish·​io·​ner
pə-ˈrish-(ə-)nər
: a member or resident of a parish
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