ser·mon (sûr'mən)
n.

1. A religious discourse delivered as part of a church service.
2. An often lengthy and tedious speech of reproof or exhortation.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sermō, sermōn-, discourse.]

sermonic ser·mon'ic (-mŏn'ĭk) or ser·mon'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.

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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.

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