I. kəˈthēdrəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin cathedralis, from Latin cathedra + -alis -al
1. : of, relating to, or containing a cathedra : of, relating to, or being a bishop's church
a cathedral church
2. : emanating from the chair of office or authority (as of a bishop) : official , authoritative
a cathedral pronouncement
3. : fit for or suggestive of a cathedral
great elms forming cathedral arches above its roads — Phyllis Duganne
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin cathedralis, probably short for (assumed) ecclesia cathedralis cathedral church
1.
a. : a church that contains a cathedra and that is officially the principal church of a diocese
the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York
b. : a church that was once a bishop's church
c. : any of various large or important nonepiscopal churches
2.
a. : something that resembles or suggests a cathedral especially in its proportions or architectural features
a Broadway cinema cathedral
that red-brick secular cathedral , Memorial Hall — A.N.Whitehead
elms that turn those streets into great cathedrals in summer — Maxwell Mays
b. : the chapter house of a Scottish rite consistory
3. : plum purple
III. adjective
of women's formal apparel : having a length that reaches the floor and trails behind
cathedral veil