autocephalous

A1U1T1O1C3E1P3H4A1L1O1U1S1
/ɔːtə(ʊ)ˈsɛfələs/

adjective

Fully independent of the authority of any other church.

RareScrabble 20

Meanings

adjectiveautocephalous (not generally comparable, comparative more autocephalous, superlative most autocephalous)

comparative more autocephalous · superlative most autocephalous

  1. 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 447
    1 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
  2. not comparableusuallyChristianityPresiding over an autocephalous church.
  3. 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 20

    Synonyms: self-determined, self-directed, self-governing · Antonyms: heterocephalous

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveIndependent; not governed by others.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekαὐτοκέφαλος
  2. Englishautocephalous

From Ancient Greek αὐτοκέφαλος (autoképhalos), from αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”). By surface analysis, auto- + -cephalous.

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
APA

autocephalous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous

MLA

“autocephalous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autocephalous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocephalous.

Source: autocephalous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.