Meanings
plural civil parishes
- In any of various countries, an administrative subdivision of an area, often of a county.
Synonyms: parish[Appendix:Glossary
- A civil subdivision of a British county, often corresponding to an earlier ecclesiastical parish; a similar subdivision in Ireland.
Synonyms: parish[Appendix:Glossary, parish[Appendix:Glossary, CP
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn any of various countries, an administrative subdivision of an area, often of a county.
nounA civil subdivision of a British county, often corresponding to an earlier ecclesiastical parish; a similar subdivision in Ireland.
Origin
The word parish for a local area of church and/or government authority predates rigorous modern distinctions between ecclesiastical and civil affairs. The term civil parish uses intentional pleonasm, in a way that natural language sometimes does, to easily and efficiently ensure clarity through disambiguation. By the same underlying principle, the term ecclesiastical parish is retronymic.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
civil parish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20parish
“civil parish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20parish. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “civil parish,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20parish.
Source: civil parish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.