former duchy of Germany; the treaties which ended the Thirty Years' War were signed there Oct. 24, 1648 (in Osnabrück and Münster). They established diplomatic protocol and ended the Catholic-Protestant military struggle in Europe. Related: Westphalian.
"long, buttoned gown or frock with sleeves, outer garment of Roman Catholic ecclesiastics," 1838, from French soutane, from Old French sotane "undershirt," from Medieval Latin subtana "an under-cassock," from Latin subtus "beneath, under, below" (from PIE root *upo "under").
older uses refer to schools in Ireland begun 1733 by the Charter Society to provide Protestant education to poor Catholic children. Modern use in U.S. began c. 1988, as an alternative to state-run public education. See charter (n.).
early 14c., from Anglo-French vicare, Old French vicaire "deputy, second in command," also in the ecclesiastical sense (12c.), from Latin vicarius "a substitute, deputy, proxy," noun use of adjective vicarius "substituted, delegated," from vicis "change, interchange, succession; a place, position" (from PIE root *weik- (2) "to bend, to wind"). The original notion is of "earthly representative of God or Christ;" but also used in sense of "person acting as parish priest in place of a real parson" (early 14c.).
The original Vicar of Bray (in figurative use from 1660s) seems to have been Simon Allen, who held the benefice from c. 1540 to 1588, thus serving from the time of Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, being twice a Catholic and twice a Protestant but always vicar of Bray. The village is near Maidenhead in Berkshire.
"one who advocates the contrary side," 1760, translating Latin advocatus diaboli, in the Catholic Church, a promoter of the faith and officer of the Sacred Congregation of Rites whose job it is to urge against the canonization of a candidate for sainthood. "[F]ar from being the whitewasher of the wicked, the [devil's advocate] is the blackener of the good." [Fowler]. Said to have been first employed in connection with the beatification of St. Lorenzo Giustiniani under Leo X (1513-21).
"doctrines, customs, ceremonies, etc. of the Pope or the Roman Catholic Church," 1530s, a hostile coinage of the Reformation, from pope + -ery. Earlier, non-hostile words along the same sense lines were popedom (Old English) "the office or dignity of a Pope;" popehood (Old English papan-had) "condition of being Pope."
"of or pertaining to Rheims" (earlier English Rhemes), city in northeastern France (see Reims), 1580s; specifically in reference to an English translation of the New Testament by Roman Catholics at the English seminary college at Douai (College des Grands Anglais), a center for English Catholic refugees, published 1582.
or Douay, name of town in northern France, used elliptically in reference to the English translation of the Bible begun there late 16c., sanctioned by Roman Catholic Church. Also called Rhemish or Rheims-Douai translation because it was published in Rheims in 1582. It uses more Latinate words than Tyndale or the KJV. The place name is from the Gaulish personal name Dous + Gallo-Roman -acum.
1610s, "state of celibacy" (especially as mandated to clergy in the Catholic church) from French célibat (16c.), from Latin caelibatus "state of being unmarried" (see celibacy). This was the only sense until early 19c.; the meaning "one who is sworn to celibacy" is from 1838. Other nouns in this sense were celibatarian, celibatist, celibian.
