From , from , from , from κατά ("according to") + ὅλος ("whole").

• (British) IPA: /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/, /ˈkɑːθ(ə)lɪk/,
• (America) IPA: /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/

catholic

1. Universal; all-encompassing.

   Synonyms: universal, Thesaurus:generic, Thesaurus:comprehensive

   • 1624, John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII., in The Works of John Donne, vol. 3, ed. Henry Alford, London: John W. Parker (1839), pp. 574-5:

     The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does, belongs to all.

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29:

     Essentially, and in idea, the empire, in the minds of the Romans, was world-wide. This conception descended to the Church, which was ‘Catholic’ in spite of Buddhists, Confucians, and (later) Muhammadans.

   • 1995, Brian D. Crandall & Peter W. Stahl, Human Digestive Effects on a Micromammalian Skeleton, Journal of Archaeological Science (1995) 22, 789-797:

     This semifossorial mammal tends to reside in areas with herbaceous cover, frequenting runways in the upper soil horizons where it feeds on a highly catholic diet of animal and plant materials […]

2. Alternative case form of Catholic.
3. (obsolete) Common or prevalent; especially universally prevalent.
4. (usually, of people and their feelings, tastes, etc.) Embracing all.

   Synonyms: eclectic, Thesaurus:heterogeneous

5. (of medicines or remedies, obsolete) Universally applicable.
6. Of universal human interest or use.

• French: catholique
• German: umfassend, allumfassend, universal

From Old French catholique, from Latin catholicus, from Ancient Greek καθολικός, from κατά + ὅλος.

• IPA: /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/

catholic

1. Of the Western Christian church, as differentiated from e.g. the Orthodox church.

   Christmas is celebrated at different dates in the Catholic and Orthodox calendars.

2. Of the Roman Catholic church in particular.

   The Church of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic one.

   Catholic churches are built differently than Protestant ones.

3. Alternative case form of catholic

• French: catholique
• German: katholisch
• Italian: cattolico
• Portuguese: católico
• Russian: католи́ческий
• Spanish: católico

• French: catholique
• German: katholisch
• Portuguese: católico
• Spanish: católico romano

catholic (plural catholics)

1. A member of a Catholic church.

   Hypernyms: Christian, Trinitarian

   Coordinate terms: Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant, Quaker

   The wife of the Prime Minister is a Catholic.

• French: catholique
• German: Katholik, Katholikin
• Italian: cattolico
• Portuguese: católico
• Russian: като́лик
• Spanish: católico, católica