different between congregation vs motherhouse

English

Etymology

From Old French congregacion, from Latin congreg?ti?, itself from congreg? (“to herd into a flock”). Adopted c. 1340, by the English Bible translator William Tyndale, to render the Ancient Greek ???????? (ekkl?sía, “those called together, (popular) meeting”) (hence Latin eccl?sia) in his New Testament, and preferred by 16th century Reformers instead of church.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k???????e???n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k???????e???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n
• Hyphenation: con?gre?ga?tion

Noun

congregation (countable and uncountable, plural congregations)

1. The act of congregating or collecting together.
2. A gathering of faithful in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship. It can also refer to the people who are present at a devotional service in the building, particularly in contrast to the pastor, minister, imam, rabbi etc. and/or choir, who may be seated apart from the general congregation or lead the service (notably in responsory form).
3. A Roman Congregation, a main department of the Vatican administration of the Catholic Church.
4. A corporate body whose members gather for worship, or the members of such a body.
5. Any large gathering of people.
6. A group of eagles.
7. (Britain, Oxford University) The main body of university staff, comprising academics, administrative staff, heads of colleges, etc.

Derived terms

• congregational
• congregationalism

Related terms

• congregant
• congregate
• congregator
• gregarious

Translations

English

Etymology

mother +? house.

Noun

motherhouse (plural motherhouses)

1. The monastery from which the other 'houses' of a religious order or congregation were (directly or indirectly) founded, often eponymous.

   The Cistercian order is called after its motherhouse Cîteaux in Burgundy, where abbot St. Bernard initiated in 1113 the reform of their branch of the Benedictine order, which has its motherhouse at Monte Cassino

2. The convent which is the seat (and often the above original foundation) of the superior of an order or congregation, and/or on which lower ranking houses (such as priories under an abbot) depend.

Translations

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Anagrams

• housemother