ecumene

English

Alternative forms

• oecumene, œcumene (archaic)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːˈkjuː.mə.ni/

Noun

ecumene (plural ecumenes)

1. (archaic, inherently emic) All known inhabited and civilized areas of the world.

   Antonyms: anecumene, wilderness, wilds, wastelands

   Near-synonym: civilization

   • 1969, Norton Ginsburg, edited by Joseph Kitagawa, Understanding Modern China‎^[1], Quadrangle Books, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 59:

     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.

2. (religion) Unification of Christianity and of Christendom.

Usage notes

Sometimes functioning as a proper noun and capitalized, for the same reasons as with world/World, universe/Universe, and others.

Derived terms

• anecumene
• ecumenism
• ecumenopolis

Related terms

• ecumenic
• ecumenical
• ecumenicalism
• ecumenicism
• ecumenism

Translations

inhabited areas of the world

• Finnish: oikumene (in the context of the Ancient Greeks)
• French: écoumène (fr) f
• Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌿𐌽𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 m (midjungards)
• Italian: ecumene (it) f
• Old Church Slavonic: въселенаꙗ f (vŭselenaja)
• Polish: ekumena (pl) f
• Russian: ойкуме́на (ru) (ojkuména)

See also

• ingroup, outgroup
• outland
• savage
• savagery

Italian

Etymology

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

Noun

ecumene f (plural ecumeni)

1. ecumene

Derived terms

• anecumene