catholic

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
Catholic
    adj 1: of or relating to or supporting Catholicism; "the
           Catholic Church"
    2: free from provincial prejudices or attachments; "catholic in
       one's tastes"
    n 1: a member of a Catholic church
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Catholic \Cath"o*lic\ (k[a^]th"[-o]*[i^]k), a. [L. catholicus,
   Gr. kaqoliko`s, universal, general; kata` down, wholly +
   "o`los whole, probably akin to E. solid: cf. F. catholique.]
   1. Universal or general; as, the catholic faith.
      [1913 Webster]

            Men of other countries [came] to bear their part in
            so great and catholic a war.          --Southey.
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   Note: This epithet, which is applicable to the whole
         Christian church, or its faith, is claimed by Roman
         Catholics to belong especially to their church, and in
         popular usage is so limited.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. Not narrow-minded, partial, or bigoted; liberal; as,
      catholic tastes.
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   3. Of or pertaining to, or affecting the Roman Catholics; as,
      the Catholic emancipation act.
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   {Catholic epistles}, the epistles of the apostles which are
      addressed to all the faithful, and not to a particular
      church; being those of James, Peter, Jude, and John.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Catholic \Cath"o*lic\, n.
   1. A person who accepts the creeds which are received in
      common by all parts of the orthodox Christian church.
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   2. An adherent of the Roman Catholic church; a Roman
      Catholic.
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   {Old Catholic}, the name assumed in 1870 by members of the
      Roman Catholic church, who denied the ecumenical character
      of the Vatican Council, and rejected its decrees, esp.
      that concerning the infallibility of the pope, as contrary
      to the ancient Catholic faith.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
54 Moby Thesaurus words for "catholic":
      all-comprehending, all-comprehensive, all-covering, all-embracing,
      all-encompassing, all-filling, all-including, all-inclusive,
      all-pervading, allover, broad, broad-gauged, broad-minded,
      catholicon, comprehensive, cosmic, cosmopolitan, country-wide,
      cure-all, eclectic, ecumenic, ecumenical, ecumenistic, elixir,
      extensive, galactic, general, generic, global, heaven-wide,
      inclusive, indeterminate, international, large-scale, liberal,
      national, nondenominational, noninsular, nonsectarian, nostrum,
      planetary, spacious of mind, total, unbigoted, unfanatical,
      unhidebound, universal, unparochial, unprovincial, wide,
      wide-minded, widespread, world-wide, worldwide

    

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