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adj. 1. Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal. 2. a. Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church. b. Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions. [From Late Latin oecūmenicus, from Greek oikoumenikos, from (hē) oikoumenē (gē), (the) inhabited (world), feminine present passive participle of oikein, to inhabit, from oikos, house; see weik-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ec′u·meni·cal n. ec′u·meni·cal·ism n. ec′u·meni·cal·ly adv. |
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