Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
encyclical en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Late Latin encyclicus + -al, from Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος (enkúklios, “circular, general”), from ἐν- (en-) + κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”).
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Intended for general circulation.
encyclical en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Late Latin encyclicus + -al, from Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος (enkúklios, “circular, general”), from ἐν- (en-) + κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”).
Meanings
-
A papal letter, intended for general circulation in the Catholic Church.
In his encyclical – the first major text on safeguarding humankind of his papacy – he also apologised for the Catholic church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as “a wound in Christian memory”, and spoke of the “new forms of slavery” due to the digital economy.
2026 May 25, Angela Giuffrida, “Pope Leo denounces ‘culture of power’ driving rise of AI”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Forms
Synonyms
encyclical letter
Translations (19)
nb pavelig rundskriv (papal letter) · ro enciclică (papal letter) · id ensiklik (papal letter) · es encíclica (papal letter) · fr encyclique (papal letter) · ga imlitir ón bPápa (papal letter) · uk енци́кліка (papal letter) · ru энци́клика (papal letter) · sv encyklika (papal letter) · fi ensyklika (papal letter) · pt encíclica (papal letter) · hu enciklika (papal letter) · eo encikliko (papal letter) · vi thông điệp (papal letter) · it enciclica (papal letter) · de Enzyklika (papal letter) · cs encyklika (papal letter) · nn paveleg rundskriv (papal letter) · pl encyklika (papal letter)