Where did the word Catholicism come from?

Answer 1

The word 'Catholic' came from the greek words 'kata' which means 'about' and 'olos' meaning 'whole'. Together, these greek words make the greek word 'kotholou' which means 'on the whole'. The adjective derived from this word is 'katholikos' which means 'universal'. From 'katholikos' comes the word 'Catholic'. 'Catholic' was first used in the 2nd century AD to describe the universal quality of the Church.

Answer 2

The word Catholic comes from the Greek word, katholikos, meaning universal. The church is called catholic on the grounds of its worldwide extension, its doctrinal completeness, its adoption to the needs to men of every kind, and its moral and spiritual perfection

Answer 3

Of course, all members of the Catholic Church have been known as Christians since the first century, it is first used in the book of Acts. It is derived from the Greek word "Christ" which is the Greek for the Hebrew word, Messiah. In the Greek New Testament it is Χριστιανός (Christianos) meaning a "follower of Christ". Up until the 11th century there were no Christians other than Catholics, in 1054, the Greek Orthodox Church broke away from the Catholic Church. Greek Orthodox, and, for that matter, anyone who is validly baptized and believes in the Nicene Creed in its traditional interpretation is a Christian. The use of the word Christian nowadays is practically meaningless;

from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

A name first given to the followers of our Lord at Antioch (Acts xi, 26). Since the rise of Protestantism the name has been used in so many different senses as to have become almost meaningless: it may indicate a Catholic or a Unitarian, or even be applied to an infidel who displays some virtue which is associated with Christ. It may reasonably be applied to the members of all the ancient churches, whether in communion with the Holy See, or not, and to those Protestants who profess, explicitly or implicitly, the Nicaean creed in its traditional interpretation. The Church puts no definite official meaning on the word, as she does on Catholic.