Faith & RitualGreek → English
Encyclical
/ɛnˈsɪklɪkəl/noun
A papal letter circulated to the bishops and, through them, to the whole church.
The Greek roots
ἐγκύκλιος
enkýklios
circular, general
Literally: “going round in a circle”
Follow a root:ἐγκύκλιος2 words
The story of the word
The Greek adjective meant going the rounds, and enkyklios paideia, education in the round, is the phrase that gave us encyclopedia. Bishops were sending circular letters long before the form had rules; Benedict XIV set the modern pattern in 1740. Each one is known by its opening Latin words, which is why the great labour encyclical of 1891 is called Rerum Novarum.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
encyclopediacyclecyclonebicycle
In a sentence
The encyclical on the environment was quoted in parliaments that had never cited a pope before.