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

The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician, Saterland Frisian preetje, Western Frisian preekje, Dutch preken, nds-de preken, German predigen, Danish prædike, Swedish predika, Icelandic prédika, Norwegian Nynorsk preika.

• IPA: /pɹiːt͡ʃ/

preach (preaches, present participle preaching; simple past and past participle preached)

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.

• French: prêcher
• German: predigen
• Italian: predicare
• Portuguese: pregar
• Russian: пропове́довать
• Spanish: predicar

• French: proclamer, prêcher
• German: predigen, verkündigen
• Italian: predicare
• Russian: пропове́довать
• Spanish: predicar

• German: predigen
• Italian: predicare
• Portuguese: pregar
• Spanish: predicar

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

1. (slang) Expressing strong agreement (as if encouraging somebody to continue speaking).

   Synonyms: church

   - If you can't do the time, don't do the crime!

   - Preach!