filioque

F4I1L1I1O1Q10U1E1
/fɪliˈoʊkwiː/traditional/fɪliˈoʊkweɪ/

noun

The use of the Latin word filioque (“and from the son”) in the Western form of the Nicene Creed, to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son (as opposed to the Eastern Orthodox Churches which believe the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone).

RareScrabble 20

Meanings

filioque1

nounfilioque (uncountable)

alternative Filioque

  1. uncountablelifestyleThe use of the Latin word filioque (“and from the son”) in the Western form of the Nicene Creed, to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son (as opposed to the Eastern Orthodox Churches which believe the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone).

    The Second Council of Lyon […] only succeeded in confirming and defining a key item of Catholic theology, the filioque, which has barred the way to reconciliation ever since.

    2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 126
    2 more examples

    But in 867 an assertion of papal authority led to a formal split. Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, attacked the filioque, which was beginning to draw papal support, and summoned a council that excommunicated the Pope.

    1989 May, John Garvey, “Eastern Orthodoxy”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN

    Another issue was the promotion of that troublesome addition to the Nicene Creed, the Filioque or double procession in the Trinity of the Spirit from Father and Son, which had taken its cue from Augustine's writing on the Trinity.

    2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 350

Filioque2

nounFilioque (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of filioque.

Origin

  1. Latinfilioque
  2. Englishfilioque

From Latin filioque, from filiō (“from the son”, ablative) + -que (“and”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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