homily Meaning, Definition & Usage

Hom"i*ly noun

Etymology

LL. homilia, Gr. communion, assembly, converse, sermon, fr. an assembly, fr. same; cf. together, and crowd, cf. to press: cf. F. homélie. See Same.

Wordforms

plural Homilies

Definitions

1. A discourse or sermon read or pronounced to an audience; a serious discourse. Shak.
2. A serious or tedious exhortation in private on some moral point, or on the conduct of life.

   As I have heard my father Deal out in his long homilies. Byron.