▪ I. cathedral, a.
(kəˈθiːdrəl)
[a. F. cathédral, or ad. (its source) med.L. cathedrālis of or belonging to the (bishop's) seat, f. cathedra: see prec. (But some adj. uses have arisen anew from the n.)]
1. Of or pertaining to the bishop's throne or see. a. esp. in cathedral church (formerly also church cathedral), the church which contains the bishop's throne, the principal church of a diocese; = cathedral n. [F. église cathédrale.] (It has been applied loosely to a collegiate or abbey church.)
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 282 Atte heye chyrche of Wynchester, þer ys se was ydo, þat me clupede chyrche cathedral. a 1384 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 73 Þei maken men to ȝeue here nedi liflode to here cathedral chirches þat han no nede. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2906 The chapitre of a chirche cathedralle. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 25 Boniface..songe in euery Cathedrall chirche of Wales a mas. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 344 To make sacrifices in the high places, in their Cathedral Churches at Bethel and at Dan. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. ii. 37 Me thought I sate in Seate of Maiesty, In the Cathedrall Church of Westminster. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxx. §11 Bishops and churches cathedral being sufficiently endowed with lands. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. (1854) II. 277 The several cathedral and collegiate churches in England and Wales. |
b. generally.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 13 Cathedral, cathedralis. 1613 R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Cathedrall, chiefe in the Diocesse. a 1640 Jackson Creed xii. xv, If in this cathedral constitution he did not err. 1641 Milton Animadv. (1851) 207 More savoury knowledge in one Lay-man, than in a dozen of Cathedrall Prelates. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 391/1 The Broad, or Cathedral Beard..because Bishops and Grave Men of the Church antiently did wear such Beards. 1882–3 Schaff Relig. Encycl. III. 2305 He found his cathedral chair full of thorns. |
2. Of or pertaining to the chair of office or authority;
ex cathedrâ:
a. ecclesiastically.
| 1638 Heywood Lucrece i. Wks. 1874 V. 170 Heere we enthrone our selves, Cathedrall state Long since detaind us, justly we resume. 1647 Jer. Taylor Lib. Proph. vii. 125 To dissent from any of his [the Pope's] Cathedrall determinations is absolute heresy. 1886 Sat. Rev. 10 July 47/1 The cathedral utterances of Leo XIII. |
b. professorially.
| 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. iii. (1632) 193 To resolve belongs to a cathedrall master [F. cathedrant]. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone i. ii. (1616) 455 Hood an asse with reuerend purple..And he shall passe for a cathedrall Doctor. 1618 Hales Let. in Gold. Rem. (1688) 423 The Schoolmens Conclusions and Cathedral Decisions had been received as Oracles and Articles of Faith. 1849 T. B. Shaw Outlines Eng. Lit. 299 The style is too uniformly didactic, cathedral, and declamatory. |
† 3. (See
quots.)
| 1690 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Cathedral, old-fashioned, out of Date, Ancient. 1755 Johnson, Cathedral, in low phrase, antique, venerable, old. |
¶ In some cases,
e.g. cathedral town, it is difficult to distinguish between the original adjective, and the
n. used attributively: see next 3.
▪ II. cathedral, n. (
kəˈθiːdrəl)
[originally cathedral church: see prec. F. cathédrale.] 1. a. The principal church of a diocese, containing the bishop's cathedra or throne; usually remarkable for size and architectural beauty. (It has been applied to the Abbey Church of Westminster.)
| 1587 Harrison England ii. i. (1877) i. 16 As the number of churches increased, so the repaire of the faithfull vnto the cathedrals did diminish. 1663 Gerbier Counsel D vij a, The great Cathedralls of St. Paul, and St. Peter, in this Metropolitan City. 1718 Lady M. W. Montague Let. to Pope 28 Sept., The great Cathedral of St. John [in Lyons] is a good Gothic building. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 339 Cathedrals decorated by all the art and magnificence of the middle ages. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington ix, Lay your earthly fancies down, And in the vast cathedral leave him. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope (title), The English Cathedral. |
b. Taken as a type of the Episcopal system.
| 1679 Establ. Test 11 They had..ruin'd the Monarchy, and pull'd down the old Cathedral, without Establishing..any Church at all. |
2. fig. Chief centre of authority and teaching.
| 1643 Milton Divorce To Parlt., Our ancient Druides, by whom this Iland was the Cathedral of Philosophy to France. 1651 Biggs New Disp. Pref. 5 Let England then keep that honour..to be the Cathedral to other Nations. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
cathedral air,
cathedral chime,
cathedral city,
cathedral close,
cathedral dome,
cathedral family,
cathedral front,
cathedral man,
cathedral music,
cathedral service,
cathedral spire,
cathedral tower,
cathedral town,
cathedral walk (
= resembling an aisle in a cathedral);
cathedral-like,
cathedral-wise advbs.;
cathedral glass, coloured glass leaded after the fashion of the stained windows of churches, used (
e.g.) in the panels of the vestibule doors of houses.
| 1644 T. Hill Right Separation (1645) 34 This made *Cathedrall aire (for the most part) so impure. |
| 1902 W. S. Walker Zealandia's Guerdon i. 16 A pretty cottage in the North Belt of Christchurch, the *Cathedral City of New Zealand. 1983 Time 25 July 44/2 The castle is 60 miles from the great cathedral city of York. |
| 1841 Penny Cycl. s.v. Salisbury, There is in the *cathedral close a college or almshouse for ten clergymen's widows. |
| 1877 Bryant Lit. People of Snow 155 Like some vast *cathedral-dome. |
| 1740 in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 264 When there is a place vacant in your family..I mean your *cathedral family. |
| 1864 Tennyson Sea Dreams 211 Huge *cathedral fronts of every age. |
| 1850 Archaeol. Inst. Gt. Brit.: Mem. Lincoln 1848 122 Many modern windows in which stain is used, especially those composed of the yellow tinted ‘*Cathedral glass’, appear at a little distance as if they were wholly yellow. 1885 Spon's Mechanic's Own Bk. 630 ‘Roundels’ and ‘bullions’ are small discs of glass..used in fretwork with cathedral glass. 1905 H. A. Evans Highways & Byways Oxf. & Cotswolds 329 The exquisite pale green transparent glass of the windows,..displaced to make room for the vulgar abomination known as ‘cathedral glass’. 1960 Willmott & Young Family & Class i. 11 Stained ‘Cathedral’ glass..is used for the top halves of doors. |
| 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 628 This Church is spatious, beautifull, and built *Cathedrall-like. |
| 1694 Providence of God 67 As ready and perfect in their Responses, as any *Cathedral-man whatever. |
| 1880 Grove Dict. Mus., *Cathedral Music, music composed for use in English Cathedral Service since the Reformation. |
| a 1704 Locke (J.) His constant and regular assisting at the *cathedral service. |
| 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 213 The gray *cathedral towers Reveal'd their shining windows. |
| a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1861) V. 157 Visions of..closes in old *cathedral towns. |
| 17.. Pope Imitat. Cowley 13 Here aged trees *Cathedral walks compose. a 1780 Blackstone Farewell Muse 22 Aged elms..In long cathedral walks extend. |
| 1713 Steele Guardian No. 80 (1756) I. 354 The service was performed *cathedral-wise. |
Hence
caˌthedraˈlesque,
catheˈdralic,
caˈthedralish,
adjs., like a cathedral;
caˈthedralized a., converted into a cathedral;
caˈthedralism, the cathedral system.
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 7 Jan. 2/2 Such magnificent minsters and cathedralesque churches as Tewkesbury, Malvern, Wimborne. 1870 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1879) II. 206 Almost cathedralic in its dimensions. 1840 Tupper Let. in My life as Author (1886) 43 A large cathedralish church. 1885 G. N. Boardman in Advance (Chicago) 3 Dec. 777 One large element of English religious character..is, if I may coin a word, Cathedralism. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th C. 178 The cathedralised abbey churches. |
Add:
[1.] c. transf. Any important, large, or imposing church.
| 1823 (title) History of the Cathedral, or, High Church of Glasgow. 1885 Hist. Glasgow Cathedral (ed. 17) 20 The Cathedral is the property of the Crown, in which is also vested the patronage of the living, the Crown thus coming in the place of the Bishop, Dean, and Chapter. 1933 Christian Century 3 Aug. 701/2 The 10,000 member Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, a highly atypical congregation of the Reformed Church in America. 1977 C. McWilliam in Binney & Burman Change & Decay i. 43/1 Kirkwall, Orkney; St. Magnus's Cathedral. A mediaeval cathedral which still bears this title although used for Church of Scotland worship. |