cathedral
/kəˈθiːdr(ə)l
/noun
The principal church of a diocese, with which the bishop is officially associated: [in names]: St Paul’s Cathedral...
- With the exception of Worcester Cathedral, William appointed Norman bishops to these cathedrals.
- And what is true of the Minster is true of the cathedrals and parish churches throughout the land.
- Thus early monasteries may be associated with cathedrals, colleges, and minsters.
Origin
Middle English (as an adjective, the noun being short for cathedral church 'the church which contains the bishop's throne'): from late Latin cathedralis, from Latin cathedra 'seat', from Greek kathedra.
First used in the term cathedral church, a church containing the bishop's throne, cathedral comes from the Latin word for a seat or throne, cathedra, which is also the source of chair (Middle English). The term ex cathedra, meaning ‘with the full authority of office’, is a reference to the authority of the pope; its literal meaning in Latin is ‘from the chair’.