n., pl., -si·ae (-zhē-ē', -zē-ē').
- The political assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state.
- A church or congregation.
[Latin ecclēsia, from Greek ekklēsiā, from ekkalein, to summon forth : ek-, out; see ecto- + kalein, klē-, to call.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
