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congregation

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: congrégation and congrégâtion

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English congregacioun, from Old French congregacion, from Latin congregātiō, itself from congregō (“to herd into a flock”). Adopted (1520s) by the English Bible translator William Tyndale, to render the Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “those called together, (popular) meeting”) (hence Latin ecclēsia) in his New Testament, and preferred by 16th century Reformers instead of church. By surface analysis, congregate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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congregation (countable and uncountable, plural congregations)

  1. The act of congregating or collecting together.
  2. A gathering of faithful in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship, especially those present at a devotional service or who regularly attend such services, particularly in contrast to the leadership, choir or others.
    Synonyms: flock, fold; see also Thesaurus:laity
    • 2021 January 13, Bethan McKernan, “Turkey drought: Istanbul could run out of water in 45 days”, in The Guardian‎[1], archived from the original on 27 August 2025:
      The critically low level of rainfall in the second half of 2020 – approaching 50% year on year for November – led the religious affairs directorate to instruct imams and their congregations to pray for rain last month.
    • 2025 June 4, Cindy Von Quednow, TuAnh Dam, “Their synagogue taught them to build peace. An antisemitic attack is testing their resilience”, in CNN‎[2], archived from the original on 22 July 2025:
      In Hebrew, bonai shalom means “builders of peace,” and the congregation welcomes both Jews and non-Jews to participate in all aspects of the community.
  3. A Roman Congregation, a main department of the Vatican administration of the Catholic Church.
  4. A corporate body whose members gather for worship, or the members of such a body.
  5. Any large gathering of people.
    Coordinate term: congress
    • 1998, Carley Roney, The Knot's Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World: The Ultimate Source of Ideas, Advice, and Relief for the Bride and Groom and Those who Love Them‎[3], Broadway Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 94:
      During the wedding ( usually held on a Saturday ) , you and your committee sit on " facing benches ” before the rest of the congregation ( your guests ) . Everyone worships silently until you two feel that it's time to say your vows .
  6. A flock of birds.
    Synonym: flock
    • 1977, Classification of Portions of the Skagit River and Selected‎[4], United States. Forest Service. Pacific Northwest Region, page 12:
      Bald eagles gather in significant numbers along the middle Skagit during the winter to feed on migrating salmon. This congregation of eagles is reported to be the largest wintering group on the contiguous West Coast.
    • 1893 September 27, The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart, London, page 800, column 3:
      "Oh! I wasted most of my morning crawling to a murmuration of starlings, which I foolishly mistook for congregation of plover."
    • 2019, Jill Heinerth, Into the Planet‎[5], Doubleday Canada:
      I was excited to ramp up our cave-diving efforts, and to see my first big congregation of penguins.
    • 2008, Frances Hardinge, Gullstruck Island‎[6], Amulet Books:
      There was a congregation of pigeons inside the shack, he realized, pushing their beaks through the wooden lattice at the front.
    • 1895, The Auk‎[7], volume 12, American Ornithologists' Union, page 262:
      Dr. C. Hart Merriam, in his 'Birds of Connecticut,' mentions a congregation of hawks as follows: "On the 25th of September, 1875, I saw near New Haven, a flock of twenty-six Red-tailed Hawks, soaring high and sailing slowly southward. The day was clear and cool, and there was little wind."
    • 1813, Dr. Frank Linwood Bailey, “Yellowlegs and Nimble Jacks”, in Forest and Stream, volume 95, Forest and Stream Publishing Company:
      A small congregation of plover hove in sight, at first far off toward the bay, yet steadily drawing nearer.
    • 1851, John Campbell Baron Campbell, The Lives of the Lords Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England‎[8], volume 6, page 520:
      We are then told how the bailiff fired into a congregation of rooks and killed several of them
  7. (collective noun) A group of alligators or crocodiles.
    Synonym: raft
    • 2010, Ann Wertz Garvin, On Maggie's Watch‎[9], Penguin Publishing Group:
      A congregation of crocodiles will communicate with body language and behavior and are also extremely territorial predators.
    • 2024, Saneh Sangsuk, The Understory‎[10], Deep Vellum Publishing:
      a large congregation of crocodiles lazing by the side of a swamp; with their thick, tough skin, coarse and lumpy and always coated in mud, they were the embodiment of hideousness, these creatures as old as time
    • 2020, Kent A. Vliet, Alligators: The Illustrated Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation‎[11], Johns Hopkins University Press, page 33:
      One of Bartram's most famous passages, and the one most often used to exemplify his gift for exaggeration, is his account of a congregation of alligators on the upper reaches of the St. Johns River in Florida during what seems to be a run of fish
    • 1882 June 1, The Youth's Companion‎[12], volume 55:
      This explained what had been a puzzle to the most knowing of the party-that wonderful congregation of crocodiles.
  8. (UK, Oxford University) The main body of university staff, comprising academics, administrative staff, heads of colleges, etc.

Derived terms

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Translations

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corporate body
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Translations to be checked
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