From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Church \Church\ (ch[^u]rch), n. [OE. chirche, chireche, cherche,
Scot. kirk, from AS. circe, cyrice; akin to D. kerk, Icel.
kirkja, Sw. kyrka, Dan. kirke, G. kirche, OHG. chirihha; all
fr. Gr. kyriako`n the Lord's house, fr. kyriako`s concerning
a master or lord, fr. ky`rios master, lord, fr. ky^ros power,
might; akin to Skr. [,c][=u]ra hero, Zend. [,c]ura strong,
OIr. caur, cur, hero. Cf. {Kirk}.]
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1. A building set apart for Christian worship.
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2. A Jewish or heathen temple. [Obs.] --Acts xix. 37.
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3. A formally organized body of Christian believers
worshiping together. "When they had ordained them elders
in every church." --Acts xiv. 23.
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4. A body of Christian believers, holding the same creed,
observing the same rites, and acknowledging the same
ecclesiastical authority; a denomination; as, the Roman
Catholic church; the Presbyterian church.
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5. The collective body of Christians.
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6. Any body of worshipers; as, the Jewish church; the church
of Brahm.
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7. The aggregate of religious influences in a community;
ecclesiastical influence, authority, etc.; as, to array
the power of the church against some moral evil.
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Remember that both church and state are properly the
rulers of the people, only because they are their
benefactors. --Bulwer.
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Note: Church is often used in composition to denote something
belonging or relating to the church; as, church
authority; church history; church member; church music,
etc.
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{Apostolic church}. See under {Apostolic}.
{Broad church}. See {Broad Church}.
{Catholic church} or {Universal church}, the whole body of
believers in Christ throughout the world.
{Church of England}, or {English church}, the Episcopal
church established and endowed in England by law.
{Church living}, a benefice in an established church.
{Church militant}. See under {Militant}.
{Church owl} (Zool.), the white owl. See {Barn owl}.
{Church rate}, a tax levied on parishioners for the
maintenance of the church and its services.
{Church session}. See under {Session}.
{Church triumphant}. See under {Triumphant}.
{Church work}, work on, or in behalf of, a church; the work
of a particular church for the spread of religion.
{Established church}, the church maintained by the civil
authority; a state church.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Catholic Church
n 1: any of several churches claiming to have maintained
historical continuity with the original Christian Church
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