Standard Lemma guide

autocephaly

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌɔːtəˈsɛfəli/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition where a church's leaders have severed ties to a larger body and thus no longer report to a higher authority.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: Christianity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From autocephalous + -y.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: outokefalie — the organisational independence of a church
  • Armenian: ինքնագլխություն (inkʻnaglxutʻyun) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Armenian: ավտոկեֆալություն (avtokefalutʻyun) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自主教會 /自主教会 (zìzhǔ jiàohuì) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Finnish: autokefalia — the organisational independence of a church
  • French: autocéphalie — the organisational independence of a church
  • Georgian: ავტოკეფალია (avṭoḳepalia) — the organisational independence of a church
  • German: Autokephalie — the organisational independence of a church
  • Greek: αυτοκεφαλία (aftokefalía) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Hungarian: autokefália — the organisational independence of a church
  • Italian: autocefalia — the organisational independence of a church
  • Japanese: 独立正教会 (dokuritsuseikyōkai) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Latin: autocephalia — the organisational independence of a church
  • Polish: autokefalia — the organisational independence of a church
  • Romanian: autocefalie — the organisational independence of a church
  • Russian: автокефа́лия (avtokefálija) — the organisational independence of a church
  • Spanish: autocefalia — the organisational independence of a church
  • Ukrainian: автокефалія (avtokefalija) — the organisational independence of a church