Diocese

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Diocese \Di"o*cese\, n.; pl. {Dioceses}. [OE. diocise, OF.
     diocise, F. dioc['e]se, L. dioecesis, fr. Gr. ? housekeeping,
     administration, a province, a diocese, fr. ? to keep house,
     manage; dia` through + ? to manage a household, ? a house.
     See {Economy}.] (Eccl.)
     The circuit or extent of a bishop's jurisdiction; the


     district in which a bishop exercises his ecclesiastical
     authority. [Frequently, but improperly, spelt {diocess}.]
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  diocese
       n : the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop [syn: {bishopric}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "diocese":
     Kreis, archbishopric, archdiocese, arrondissement, bailiwick,
     bishopric, borough, canton, city, commune, conference,
     congressional district, constablewick, county, departement,
     district, duchy, electoral district, electorate, government,
     hamlet, hundred, magistracy, metropolis, metropolitan area, oblast,
     okrug, parish, precinct, principality, province, region, riding,
     see, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shire, shrievalty, soke, stake,
     state, synod, territory, town, township, village, wapentake,
     ward
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  DIOCESE, eccl. law. The district over which a bishop exercises his spiritual 
  functions. 1 B1. Com. 111.