n.
Pronunciation: ' per-ish, ' pa-rish
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English parisshe, from Anglo-French paroche, parosse , from Late Latin parochia, from Late Greek paroikia, from paroikos Christian, from Greek, stranger, from para- + oikos house ― more at VICINITY
Date: 14th century
1 a (1) : the ecclesiastical unit of area committed to one pastor (2) : the residents of such an area b British : a subdivision of a county often coinciding with an original ecclesiastical parish and constituting the unit of local government
2 : a local church community composed of the members or constituents of a Protestant church
3 : a civil division of the state of Louisiana corresponding to a county in other states