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Homily Has Greek Roots
Gather round for a succinct history of homily. The story starts with the ancient Greek word homilos, meaning "crowd" or "assembly," and travels through related Greek words homilein, "to address," and homilia, "conversation, discourse." Homilia eventually takes on the "usually short sermon" meaning in our modern homily, and then is incorporated into the Latin used by writers of the early first millennium. It reaches English speakers of the 14th century by way of Anglo-French, but when it arrives it's spelled omelie. By the mid-16th century the "h" is back, and the "y" of the modern spelling has found its place. A side note to our tale is this: be careful not to confuse homily with hominy, a 17th century word of Virginia Algonquian origin denoting a key ingredient in the Mexican soup posole (which, if we may be so corny, is a dish worth preaching about).
Examples of homily in a Sentence
Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2025
In his homily during his inauguration Mass on Oct. 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II noted that popes had been crowned in the past, but said the focus should be elsewhere.
—Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 18 May 2025
In his homily, Pope Leo at his inaugural mass, called for peace in Ukraine and of course Gaza as well.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 18 May 2025
Leo – who speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German, according to the National Catholic Reporter – began his homily by addressing the cardinals in English.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for homily
Cite this Entry
“Homily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homily. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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