ecclesia
[ɛkˈkɫeː.si.a]feminine
The English word "church" is translated in Latin as ecclesia.
ecclesia refers to a house of worship. In more formal contexts, you might use Domus Dei to mean "House of God" or Sancta Ecclesia to mean "Holy Church".
Meaning: house of worship (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, ecclesia means an assembly or a gathering of people.
How does it change in a sentence?
ecclesia is a feminine noun. To indicate possession, such as "of the church", use the genitive singular form ecclesiae. To refer to multiple churches, use the nominative plural ecclesiae. When the church is the direct object of a verb, use the accusative form ecclesiam.
Did you know?
- The Latin word basilica, which also means 'church' in certain contexts, originally referred to a Roman public hall for law courts and business.
- Before it referred to a religious building, the Greek root of ecclesia described a political assembly of citizens in a city-state.
- The word ecclesia actually shares its DNA with the Greek verb 'ekkaléō', which means 'to call out' or 'to summon'.
Examples in context
- Cur in ecclesia est?Why is she in the church?This example shows how to use ecclesia to indicate a location.Tatoeba #2585613 by alexmarcelo, translation #2584765 by CM
- Ad ecclesiam non eo.I don't go to church.This sentence demonstrates the use of the accusative form ecclesiam after a preposition.Tatoeba #2809168 by alexmarcelo, translation #2276012 by CK
- Pua in ecclesia canit.Pua sings at church.This sentence uses ecclesia to describe an action occurring at a location.Tatoeba #5085282 by alexmarcelo, translation #3155278 by CN
- 40 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Quintus and Lucia are walking through a small town.
- QuintusEcclesia est prope.The church is nearby.
- LuciaVisne in ecclesiam īre?Do you want to go into the church?
- QuintusIta, ad ecclesiam ībimus.Yes, we will go to the church.
- LuciaOptime, ad ecclesiam eamus.Great, let's go to the church.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “church” translations and entries ecclesia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ecclesia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
