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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

simony en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsaɪ.mə.ni/ (UK, US)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈsɪ.mə.ni/ (UK, US)

Etymology

From Middle English simonie, symonye, from Old French simonie, from Late Latin simonia, named after Simon Magus (Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (Šimʻôn, “Simon”)), with reference to Acts 8:18–20.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The buying or selling of spiritual or sacred things, such as ecclesiastical offices, pardons, or consecrated objects.
    • He openly practiced simony; in other words, he sold benefices. 2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 37:
    • To his eyes it had no attraction; it savoured of simony, and was likely to bring down upon him harder and more deserved strictures than any he had yet received: he positively declined to become vicar of Puddingdale under any circumstances. 1855, Anthony Trollope, chapter 20, in The Warden:
    • ‘There are those two,’ he then said, ‘who were recently arraigned on a charge of high simony. Fancying a monstrance and stealing it and proposing to sell it. They pleaded the usual pagan ignorance.’ 1989, Anthony Burgess, “Hun”, in The Devil’s Mode:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
simonies Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

barratry

Deriveds

simonist · simoniac

Relateds

benefice

Synonyms

Simonism

Translations (28)

pl świętokupstwo (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · nl simonie (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · xcl սիմոնեան ախտ (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · la simonia (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · sv simoni (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · ru симони́я (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · de Simonie (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · ru святоку́пство (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · gl simonía (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · ka სიმონია (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · it simonia (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · bg симония (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · nl handel in geestelijke ambten (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · pl symonia (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · da simoni (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · ro simonie (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · pt simonia (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · uk симоні́я (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · fr simonie (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · fi simonia (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · el σιμωνία (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · nl handel in geestelijke privileges (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · es simonía (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · hy սիմոնականություն (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · be сімані́я (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · az simoniya (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · de Ämterkauf (act of buying or selling spiritual things) · cs svatokupectví (act of buying or selling spiritual things)