FACTOID # 56: Malaysia has the lowest rate of cinema attendance in the world.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Kirk

Kirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. St. ... The Church of Scotland (CofS, known informally as The Kirk, Eaglais na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the national church of Scotland. ...

Contents

Basic meaning and etymology

As a common noun, kirk is the Scots and Scottish English word for 'church', attested as a noun from the 14th century onwards, but as an element in placenames much earlier. Both words, kirk and church, derive from the Koine Greek κυριακόν (δωμα) (kyriakon (dōma)) meaning Lord's (house), which was borrowed into the Germanic languages in late antiquity, possibly in the course of the Gothic missions. (Only a connection with the idiosyncrasies of Gothic explains how a Greek neuter noun became a Germanic feminine.) Whereas church displays Old English palatalisation, kirk is likely to be a loanword from Old Norse and thus has the original mainland Germanic consonants. Compare cognates: Icelandic & Faroese kirkja; Swedish kyrka; Norwegian & Danish kirke; German Kirche; Dutch kerk; Frisian tsjerke; and borrowed into non-Germanic languages: Estonian kirik and Finnish kirkko. A noun, or noun substantive, is a word or phrase that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality. ... Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ... Scottish English is usually taken to mean the standard form of the English language used in Scotland, often termed Scottish Standard English. ... St. ... Koine redirects here. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Frisian is a Germanic group of closely related languages, spoken by about half a million members of Frisian ethnic groups living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ...


The Church of Scotland

As a proper noun, The Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland, the country's national church. The Kirk of Scotland was in official use as the name of the Church of Scotland until the 17th century, and still today the term is frequently used in the press and everyday speech, though seldom in the Church's own literature. However, Kirk Session is still the standard term in church law for the court of elders in the local parish, both in the Church of Scotland and in any of the other Scottish Presbyterian denominations. A proper noun is a noun that picks out a unique entity. ... The Church of Scotland (CofS, known informally as The Kirk, Eaglais na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the national church of Scotland. ... Presbyterian governance of a church is typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. ...


Free Kirk

Even more commonly, The Free Kirk is heard as an informal name for the Free Church of Scotland, an evangelical presbyterian church formed in 1843 when its founders withdrew from the Church of Scotland. See: The contemporary Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900. ...

The Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900) was a Scottish denomination formed by the withdrawal of a large section of the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the Disruption of 1843. ... The contemporary Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900. ...

High Kirk

High kirk is the term sometimes used to describe a congregation of the Church of Scotland which uses a building which was a cathedral prior to the Reformation. As the Church of Scotland is not governed by bishops, it also has no cathedrals in the episcopal sense of the word. In more recent times, the traditional names have been revived, so that in many cases both forms can be heard: Glasgow Cathedral, as well as the High Kirk of Glasgow, and St. Giles' Cathedral, as well as the High Kirk of Edinburgh. A cathedral is a religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican and some Lutheran churches, which serves as a bishops seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. ... Like most Reformed Churches, the Church of Scotland has a Presbyterian structure which invests in a hierarchy of courts the authority which other denominations give to bishops. ... The front of Glasgow Cathedral, from Cathedral Square Glasgow Cathedral and Glasgow Royal Infirmary viewed from Glasgow Necropolis Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of Glasgow, is a Church of Scotland cathedral in Glasgow. ... St. ...


The the term High Kirk should, however, be used with some caution. Several towns have a congregation known as the High Kirk which have never been pre-Reformation Cathedrals. Examples include Dundee (where the High Kirk is not the historic Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's)), Old High St Stephen's in Inverness and Stevenston High Kirk in Ayrshire. Dundee Parish Church (St Mary’s) is located in the east section of Dundees City Churches, the other being occupied by the Steeple Church. ... Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in Scottish Gaelic) is a region of south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ...


(There is no connection with the term High Church, which represents a grouping within Anglicanism.) High Church relates to ecclesiology and liturgy in Christian theology and practice. ...


Place names

Like words meaning "church" in other languages, kirk is found as an element in many place names in Scotland and northern England, and in countries with large Scottish expatriate communities. Examples include Falkirk or Kirkwall in Scotland, Kirkstall in England and Newkirk, Oklahoma in the United States. For a fuller list, see Kirk (disambiguation). Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots3 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  -  First Minister Jack McConnell... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Falkirk (An Eaglais Bhreac in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. ... Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. ... Kirkstall is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, and is located next to the River Aire, nestled between the river and the suburbs of Headingley to the North, Horsforth to the North West and Burley to the South East. ... Newkirk is a city located in Kay County, Oklahoma. ... // See: Kirk Kirk is found as an element in many place names in Scotland and northern England, and in countries with large Scottish expatriate communities, for example: Scotland Falkirk Halkirk, Caithness, Highland Kirkcaldy, Fife Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkliston, Edinburgh Selkirk Kirkton of Skene, Aberdeenshire, and many other Kirktons, all...


What may be slightly surprising is that this element is found not only in place names of Anglo-Saxon origin, but also in some Southern Scottish names of Gaelic origin such as Kirkcudbright (where the second element is the Gaelic form of "Cuthbert"). Here, the Gaelic element cil- (church, monk's cell) might be expected. The reason appears to be that kirk was borrowed into Galwegian Gaelic, though it was never part of standard Scottish Gaelic. Location within the British Isles. ... Galwegian Gaelic is an extinct Goidelic dialect formerly spoken in South West Scotland. ...


When the element appears in placenames in the former British empire, a distinction can be made between those where the element is productive (the place is named because of the presence of a church) and those where it is merely transferred (the place is named after a place in Scotland). Kirkland, Washington is an exception, being named after a person. Nickname: The Little City That Could Location of Kirkland within King County, Washington, and King County within Washington. ...


The element kirk is also used in anglicisations of continental European place names originally formed from one of the continental Germanic cognates. Thus Dunkirk (France) is a rendering of an original Dutch form, Duinkerke. This does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses of Dunkirk or Dunkerque, see Dunkirk (disambiguation). ...


See: David Dorward, Scotland's Place-names, 1995, p.82f. ISBN 1-873644-50-7


Personal names

Kirk is also in use as both a surname and a male forename. For a list, see Kirk (disambiguation). Parallels in other languages are far rarer than with placenames, but English Church can also be a surname. // See: Kirk Kirk is found as an element in many place names in Scotland and northern England, and in countries with large Scottish expatriate communities, for example: Scotland Falkirk Halkirk, Caithness, Highland Kirkcaldy, Fife Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkliston, Edinburgh Selkirk Kirkton of Skene, Aberdeenshire, and many other Kirktons, all...


  Results from FactBites:
 
STARTREK.COM : Biography (1114 words)
Kirk's renown began by becoming the youngest captain in Starfleet to date at 34 and the first captain to bring his starship back relatively intact after a five-year mission, having also gained a reputation as an independent whose success couldn't be argued even though he often bucked the system.
As a child of 13, Kirk witnessed the massacre of 4,000 people during a famine by the governor of Tarsus IV, nicknamed Kodos the Executioner.
Kirk had the distinction of being the only cadet ever to beat the "no-win" Kobayashi Maru scenario; he had secretly reprogrammed the simulation computer, making it possible to win and earning himself a commendation for original thinking.
The Kirk Center - Biography of Russell Kirk (741 words)
Kirk wrote and spoke on modern culture, political thought and practice, educational theory, literary criticism, ethical questions, and social themes.
Kirk was born near the railroad yards at Plymouth, Michigan, in 1918 and lived much of his life at his ancestral place, Piety Hill, in Mecosta, Michigan—a little village in the stump-country.
Annette Kirk was an active member of the National Commission on Excellence in Education and is now President of the Russell Kirk Center.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 0825, e