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Origin and history of homily

homily(n.)

late 14c., omelye, from Old French omelie "homily" (12c., Modern French homélie), from Church Latin homilia "a homily, sermon," from Greek homilia "conversation, discourse," used in New Testament Greek for "sermon," from homilos "an assembled crowd," from homou "together" (from PIE *somalo-, suffixed form of root *sem- (1) "one; as one, together with") + ile "troop, band, crowd" (cognate with Sanskrit melah "assembly," Latin miles "soldier"). Latinate form restored in English 16c. A collection of them is a homiliary (1844).

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to homily

homiletic(adj.)

1640s, "of or having to do with sermons," from Late Latin homileticus, from Greek homiletikos "of conversation, affable," from homilia "conversation, discourse," in New Testament, "sermon" (see homily). Related: Homiletical.

homilist(n.)

1610s, from homily + -ist.

*sem-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "one; as one, together with."

It might form all or part of: anomalous; anomaly; assemble; assimilate; ensemble; facsimile; fulsome; hamadryad; haplo-; haploid; hendeca-; hendiadys; henotheism; hetero-; heterodox; heterosexual; homeo-; homeopathy; homeostasis; homily; homo- (1) "same, the same, equal, like;" homogenous; homoiousian; homologous; homonym; homophone; homosexual; hyphen; resemble; same; samizdat; samovar; samsara; sangha; Sanskrit; seem; seemly; semper-; sempiternal; similar; simple; simplex; simplicity; simulacrum; simulate; simulation; simultaneous; single; singlet; singular; some; -some (1); -some (2); verisimilitude.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit sam "together," samah "even, level, similar, identical;" Avestan hama "similar, the same;" Greek hama "together with, at the same time," homos "one and the same," homios "like, resembling," homalos "even;" Latin similis "like;" Old Irish samail "likeness;" Old Church Slavonic samu "himself."

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    Trends of homily

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    folklore
    Old English folclar meant "homily."...
    study
    [Homily for the Feast of the Virgin Mary, c.1125] From c. 1300 as "apply oneself to the acquisition of learning, pursue...
    proverb
    The Book of Proverbs in Old English was cwidboc, from cwide "speech, saying, proverb, homily," related to cwiddian "to talk...
    sermon
    that which is preached," from Anglo-French sermoun, Old French sermon, sermun "speech, words, discourse; church sermon, homily...
    discourse
    late 14c., "process of understanding, reasoning, thought," from French discours, from Latin discursus "a running about," in Late Latin "conversation," in Medieval Latin "reasoning," noun use of past participle of discurrere "to run about, run to and fro, hasten," in Late Latin "t
    virtue
    c. 1200, vertu, "moral life and conduct; a particular moral excellence," from Anglo-French and Old French vertu "force, strength, vigor; moral strength; qualities, abilities" (10c. in Old French), from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "moral strength, high character, goodness;
    avarice
    c. 1300, "inordinate desire of gaining and possessing wealth," fifth of the seven deadly sins, from Old French avarice "greed, covetousness" (12c.), from Latin avaritia "greed, inordinate desire," from avarus "greedy, grasping," adjectival form of avere "crave, long for, be eager
    calamity
    early 15c., "damage, state of adversity;" 1550s, "a great misfortune or cause of misery," from Old French calamite (14c.), from Latin calamitatem (nominative calamitas) "damage, loss, failure; disaster, misfortune, adversity," a word of obscure origin. Early etymologists associat
    negotiation
    early 15c., negotiacioun, "a dealing with people, trafficking," from Old French negociacion "business, trade," and directly from Latin negotiationem (nominative negotiatio) "business, traffic," noun of action from past participle stem of negotiari "carry on business, do business,
    patient
    mid-14c., paciente, "capable of enduring misfortune, suffering, etc., without complaint," from Old French pacient and directly from Latin patientem "bearing, supporting, suffering, enduring, permitting" (see patience). From late 14c. as "slow to anger, self-restrained, having the

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