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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ecumene en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /iːˈkjuː.mə.ni/

Etymology

From Ancient Greek οἰκουμένη (oikouménē, “inhabited world”), from οἰκέω (oikéō, “I inhabit, dwell”), from οἶκος (oîkos, “residence”).

Meanings

  1. (archaic, qualifier:inherently emic) All known inhabited and civilized areas of the world.
    • Ninety-five per cent of the cultivated area of the country lies east of a line drawn from Tsitsihar (Ch'i-ch'i-ha-erh) in northern Manchuria to K'un-ming in Yün-nan Province. This is eastern China, and within it is the Chinese ecumene. 1969, Norton Ginsburg, edited by Joseph Kitagawa, Understanding Modern China, Quadrangle Books, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 59:
    • Near-synonym: civilization
  2. Unification of Christianity and of Christendom.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
œcumene alternative, archaic lexicographic
ecumenes Number=Plur lexicographic
oecumene alternative, archaic lexicographic

Antonyms

wilds · wilderness · wasteland · anecumene

Deriveds

anecumene · ecumenism · ecumenopolis

Relateds

ecumenic · savagery · outgroup · ecumenicalism · ecumenicism · savage · outland · ecumenical · ecumenism · ingroup

Synonyms

civilization

Translations (7)

ru ойкуме́на (inhabited areas of the world) · got 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌿𐌽𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (inhabited areas of the world) · it ecumene (inhabited areas of the world) · fi oikumene (inhabited areas of the world) · cu въселенаꙗ (inhabited areas of the world) · fr écoumène (inhabited areas of the world) · pl ekumena (inhabited areas of the world)