Edifying

4 definitions found

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

  Edifying \Ed"i*fy`ing\, a.
     Instructing; improving; as, an edifying conversation. --
     {Ed"i*fy`ing*ly}, adv. -- {Ed"i*fy`ing*ness}, n.
     [1913 Webster]

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



  Edify \Ed"i*fy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Edified}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Edifying}.] [F. ['e]difier, L. aedificare; aedes a building,
     house, orig., a fireplace (akin to Gr. ? to burn, Skr. idh to
     kindle, OHG. eit funeral pile, AS. [=a]d, OIr. aed fire) +
     facere to make. See {Fact}, {-fy}.]
     1. To build; to construct. [Archaic]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              There was a holy chapel edified.      --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious
        knowledge; to teach.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              It does not appear probable that our dispute [about
              miracles] would either edify or enlighten the
              public.                               --Gibbon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To teach or persuade. [Obs.] --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  edifying
       adj : enlightening or uplifting so as to encourage intellectual or
             moral improvement; "the paintings in the church served
             an edifying purpose even for those who could not read"
             [syn: {enlightening}] [ant: {unedifying}]

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

  24 Moby Thesaurus words for "edifying":
     autodidactic, coeducational, cultural, didactic, disciplinary,
     educating, educational, educative, enlightening, exhortatory,
     homiletic, hortatory, illuminating, informative, initiatory,
     instructive, introductory, lecturing, preaching, preceptive,
     propaedeutic, self-teaching, teaching, tuitionary