Standard Lemma guide

churchman

name · noun · 6 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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  • UK: /ˈt͡ʃɜːt͡ʃmən/
  • CMU ARPABET: CH ER1 CH M AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A churchwarden.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A person (originally a man) of authority in a Christian religious organization (a church).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The bishop, a highly placed churchman, stated the religion's opinion.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cleric

4

noun

Meaning 4

A member or adherent of an established church, especially the Church of England.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Alternative letter-case form of churchman.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a clergyman or other person in religious orders

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cleric, divine, ecclesiastic

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: clergyman, reverend, man of the cloth

Narrower terms: ordainer, pardoner, pluralist, a Kempis, Thomas a Kempis, Bruno, Saint Bruno, St. Bruno

History

Etymology

From church + man. Compare kirkman and German Kirchmann.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Hebrew: איש־כנסיה (ysh-knesia) — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Hungarian: pap — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Hungarian: lelkész — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Hungarian: egyházi ember — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Irish: eaglaiseach — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Macedonian: свештенослу́жител (sveštenoslúžitel) — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Manx: agglishagh — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Manx: saggyrt — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Russian: церко́вник (cerkóvnik) — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric
  • Russian: священнослужи́тель (svjaščennoslužítelʹ) — a person of authority in a religious organization; a cleric