Parish

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. That circuit of ground committed to the charge of one parson or vicar, or other minister having cure of souls therein. Cowell.

2. The same district, constituting a civil jurisdiction, with its own officers and regulations, as respects the poor, taxes, etc.

3. An ecclesiastical society, usually not bounded by territorial limits, but composed of those persons who choose to unite under the charge of a particular priest, clergyman, or minister; also, loosely, the territory in which the members of a congregation live. [U. S.]

4. In Louisiana, a civil division corresponding to a county in other States.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

Of or pertaining to a parish; parochial; as, a parish church; parish records; a parish priest; maintained by the parish; as, parish poor. Dryden. Parish clerk. (a) The clerk or recording officer of a parish. (b) A layman who leads in the responses and otherwise assists in the service of the Church of England. -- Parish court, in Louisiana, a court in each parish.