Meanings
comparative more autocephalous · superlative most autocephalous
- not comparableusuallyChristianityFully independent of the authority of any other church.
Poroshenko's speech was viscerally anti-Russian, and his loudest applause line came when he vowed to establish an autocephalous (independent from Moscow) Ukrainian Orthodox Church patriarchate.
2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 4471 more example
The defenders of Anglican independence maintain that there were anciently Churches autocephalous, dependent on no patriarch, and refer to the Churches of Cyprus as thus constituted, and allege that the British Churches enjoyed the same right of self-government and ordained their own prelates.
1845, Francis Patrick Kenrick, The Primacy of the Apostolic See Vindicated, Philadelphia, page 178 - not comparableusuallyChristianityPresiding over an autocephalous church.
- comparablenot comparableusuallyIndependent; not governed by others.
1 more example
This is the Weberian continuum which stretches between the poles of “autocephalous” (self-organized and managing) and “heterocephalous” (organized and managed by others) occupations. […]In the more autocephalous occupations—the professions; the arts; independent accountants, draftsmen, and the like; independent small and medium businessmen in merchandising, manufacturing, artisanry, and the service trades—effective organization is less feasible.
1970, Ronald C. Newton, “On ‘Functional Groups,’ ‘Fragmentation,’ and ‘Pluralism’ in Spanish American Political Society”, in Hispanic American Historical Review, volume 50, number 1, →DOI, page 20Synonyms: self-determined, self-directed, self-governing · Antonyms: heterocephalous
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveIndependent; not governed by others.
Origin
- Ancient Greekαὐτοκέφαλος
- Englishautocephalous
From Ancient Greek αὐτοκέφαλος (autoképhalos), from αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”). By surface analysis, auto- + -cephalous.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian автокефа́лен
- автокефа́лен (avtokefálen)(of a church) independent
Catalan autocèfale
- autocèfale(of a church) independent
Chinese Mandarin 自主
- 自主 (zìzhǔ)(of a church) independent
Czech autokefalní
- autokefalní(of a church) independent
Danish autokefal
- autokefal(of a church) independent
Finnish autokefaalinen
- autokefaalinen(of a church) independent
French autocéphale
- autocéphale(of a church) independent
German autokephal
- autokephal(of a church) independent
Greek αυτοκέφαλος
- αυτοκέφαλος (aftokéfalos)(of a church) independent
Italian autocefalo
- autocefalo(of a church) independent
Latin autocephalus
- autocephalus(of a church) independent
Norwegian Bokmål autokefal
- autokefal(of a church) independent
Polish autokefaliczny
- autokefaliczny(of a church) independent
Portuguese autocéfalo
- autocéfalo(of a church) independent
Romanian autocefal
- autocefal(of a church) independent
Russian автокефа́льный
- автокефа́льный (avtokefálʹnyj)(of a church) independent
Slovak autokefálny
- autokefálny(of a church) independent
Spanish autocéfalo
- autocéfalo(of a church) independent
Swedish autokefal
- autokefal(of a church) independent
Ukrainian автокефа́льний
- автокефа́льний (avtokefálʹnyj)(of a church) independent
Welsh hunanbenaethol
- hunanbenaethol(of a church) independent
Cite this entry
autocephalous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous
“autocephalous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autocephalous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous.
Source: autocephalous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.