preach

See also: preaçh and préach

English

Etymology

From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō. Doublet of predicate.

The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹiːt͡ʃ/
• Rhymes: -iːtʃ

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Verb

preach (third-person singular simple present preaches, present participle preaching, simple past and past participle preached or (nonstandard) praught)

1. (intransitive) To give a sermon.

   A learned local Muslim used to preach in the small mosque every Friday.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 26:

     One saint’s day in mid-term a certain newly-appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”  He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.

2. (transitive) To proclaim by public discourse; to utter in a sermon or a formal religious harangue.
   • 1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Isaiah LXI:1, folio 304, recto, column 1:

     The Spirit of the Lord God is vpon me, therefore hathe the Lord anointed me: he hathe ſent me to preache good tidings vnto the poore, […]

3. (transitive) To advise or recommend earnestly.
   • c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 98, column 1:

     My M^r preaches patience to him, […]

4. (transitive) To teach or instruct by preaching; to inform by preaching.
   • 1801, Robert Southey, “The Ninth Book”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume II, London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC, page 149:

     The Spirits of the Dead, / Quitting their mortal mansion, enter not, / As falsely ye are preached, their final seat / Of bliss, or bale; […]

5. (intransitive) To give advice in an offensive or obtrusive manner.

Derived terms

• preacher
• preachy

Related terms

• practice what one preaches, practise what one preaches
• preach to the choir
• preach to the converted

Descendants

• → Manx: preaçh

Translations

give a sermon

• Arabic: خَطَبَ‎ (ḵaṭaba), وَعَظَ‎ (waʕaẓa)

  Moroccan Arabic: خطب‎ (ḵṭab)

• Armenian: քարոզել (hy) (kʿarozel)
• Bulgarian: проповя́двам (bg) impf (propovjádvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 講道／讲道 (zh) (jiǎngdào)

• Czech: kázat (cs) impf
• Dutch: verkondigen (nl), preken (nl), prediken (nl)
• Esperanto: prediki (eo)
• Finnish: saarnata (fi)
• French: prêcher (fr)
• Georgian: ქადაგება (kadageba), ქადაგებს (kadagebs)
• German: predigen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌼𐌴𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (mērjan)
• Greek: κηρύσσω (el) (kirýsso)

  Ancient Greek: κηρύσσω (kērússō)

• Hungarian: prédikál (hu)
• Icelandic: predika
• Ido: predikar (io)
• Irish: seanmóir a thabhairt

  Old Irish: pridchaid

• Italian: predicare (it)
• Luxembourgish: priedegen
• Macedonian: проповеда (propoveda)
• Manx: preaçh, sharmanee
• Maori: kauhau, kauwhau
• Ngazidja Comorian: uhutuɓu
• Norwegian Bokmål: preke (no)
• Norwegian Nynorsk: preika
• Old English: predician
• Portuguese: pregar (pt)
• Romani:

  Kalo Finnish Romani: rakkavaa deevelesko lau, rikkavaa preediika

• Romanian: predica (ro)
• Russian: пропове́довать (ru) impf (propovédovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: searmonaich
• Serbo-Croatian: propovijédati (sh) impf, propovédati (sh) impf
• Slovak: kázať impf
• Slovene: prídigati (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: prjatkowaś impf

• Spanish: predicar (es)
• Swedish: predika (sv)
• Walloon: pretchî (wa)
• Welsh: pregethu (cy)

proclaim by public discourse

• Arabic: كَرَزَ‎ (karaza)
• Aramaic:

  Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: כְּרַז‎ (kraz)

  Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: כְּרַז‎ (kraz)

  Classical Syriac: ܟܪܰܙ‎ (kraz)

• Bulgarian: проповя́двам (bg) impf (propovjádvam)
• Coptic: ⲕⲏⲣⲩⲥⲥⲉ (kērusse)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: κηρύσσω (kērússō)

  Modern Greek: κηρύσσω (el) (kirýsso)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宣揚／宣扬 (zh) (xuānyáng)

• Finnish: saarnata (fi)
• French: proclamer (fr), prêcher (fr)
• German: predigen (de), verkündigen (de)
• Irish: craobhscaoil
• Italian: predicare (it)
• Latin: praedicō (la)
• Polish: głosić (pl) impf, kazać (pl) impf
• Russian: пропове́довать (ru) impf (propovédovatʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: propovijédati (sh) impf, propovédati (sh) impf
• Slovene: prídigati (sl)
• Spanish: predicar (es)
• Swahili: kutangaza

advise or recommend earnestly

• Armenian: քարոզել (hy) (kʿarozel)
• Bulgarian: поучавам (bg) (poučavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 說教／说教 (zh) (shuōjiào)

• Czech: kázat (cs)
• Finnish: saarnata (fi)
• German: predigen (de)
• Hungarian: prédikál (hu)
• Icelandic: predika
• Italian: predicare (it)
• Macedonian: проповеда (propoveda)
• Portuguese: pregar (pt)
• Spanish: predicar (es)
• Swedish: predika (sv)
• Walloon: pretchî (wa), pirlodjî (wa)

See also

• praught

Noun

preach (plural preaches)

1. (obsolete) A religious discourse.
   • 1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC:

     he make peace in his preaches and play with esteem

Anagrams

• eparch, pearch