pericope

A priest reads a pericope from the Bible during the Sunday service.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short extract from a text, especially a passage from the Bible, that is read aloud during a religious service.
   • In literary or rhetorical analysis, a distinct and self-contained section of a written work, often used for focused study or quotation.

Usage Examples

• (A short biblical passage chosen for public reading in church.)
• (A specific, extractable section of a text under academic scrutiny.)

Advanced Usage

• "Pericope of the adulteress": a well-known biblical passage (John 7:53–8:11) that is often treated as a distinct pericope.

  • The pericope of the adulteress is missing from some early manuscripts. (This specific biblical passage has textual variants.)

• "Pericope structure": the arrangement of a text into discrete, readable units for liturgical or pedagogical purposes.

  • The lectionary follows a pericope structure, ensuring that key passages are read each year. (The reading schedule organizes the Bible into short, thematic sections.)

Variants and Related Words

• Pericopal (adj): relating to a pericope or to the selection of pericopes.

  • The pericopal readings for Easter Sunday are taken from the Gospels. (The chosen biblical passages for that service.)

• Pericopic (adj): another form of the adjective, used less commonly.

  • The pericopic analysis of the text revealed its thematic unity. (The study of the passage as a self-contained unit.)

Synonyms

• Excerpt: a short passage taken from a longer work.
• Selection: a chosen portion of a text.
• Lesson (in a liturgical context): a reading from the Bible during a service.
• Passage: a section of a written work.

Related Idioms

• (No common idioms directly use "pericope," as it is primarily a technical term in biblical studies and liturgy.)

Phrasal Verbs

• (No phrasal verbs are associated with "pericope," as it is a noun with no verbal usage.)