In the Greek of the New Testament, the word paroikia means "temporary residence in a foreign land" and comes from the Greek word for "stranger": paroikos. Early Christians used this designation for their colonies because they considered heaven their real home. But temporary or not, these Christian colonies became more organized as time went on. Thus, in Late Latin, parochia became the designation for a group of Christians in a given area under the leadership of one pastor—what we came to call a parish in the 14th century. Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that had been derived from the Late Latin. We didn't begin to use parochial in its "narrow" sense until the mid-19th century.
It has never been clearer that the country's best self is a global inheritance, its worst a parochial self-certainty. Jedediah Purdy, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009There is no patience for the parochial, the small-time, the stay-in-place, not in Los Angeles. Richard Hoffer, Sports Illustrated, 8 Sept. 2008… during the mid-1780s, Madison had two great goals. The first was to inculcate an enlightened sense of national interest in legislators whose political instincts were innately parochial. Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings … , 1996 our pastor and other parochial leaders voters worried about their own parochial concerns
Recent Examples on the WebThose projects often end up feeling more than a little parochial — less Carl Sandburg’s City of the Big Shoulders, more City with a Big Chip on its Shoulder. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2022 In this light, Yeshiva University’s insistence on Orthodox Jewish practice and principle looks hopelessly parochial. William Mcgurn, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022 As recently as 2017, about 60% of India's nearly 1.3 billion people were living on less than $3.10 a day, according to the World Bank, and women still face widespread discrimination in the deeply parochial country. Rhea Mogul, CNN, 14 Aug. 2022 Spending more than the Pentagon wants for defense programs of parochial significance is not new. John M. Donnelly Cq-roll Call (tns), al, 4 Aug. 2022 Al Qaeda’s leadership is sensitive to that risk because its main competitor, Islamic State, already portrays its rival as lacking in ambition and having compromised itself with parochial conflicts. Jessica Donati, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 The surge in criticism of Cawthorn following his latest claims is a reminder that the House is governed, primarily, by parochial concerns. Chris Cillizza, CNN, 31 Mar. 2022 Private schools, parochial schools or home schoolers are eligible to receive this money. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 1 July 2022 In 2020, the court held that state scholarship funds had to be available to parochial schools as well as public schools. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN, 25 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English parochiall, from Anglo-French parochial, from Late Latin parochialis, from parochia parish — more at parish