Revised 2003

non-sectarianadjective

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency

Quotations

Hide all quotations

Factsheet

What does the adjective non-sectarian mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective non-sectarian. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the adjective non-sectarian?

About 0.1occurrences per million words in modern written English

1830	0.0039
1840	0.0069
1850	0.015
1860	0.034
1870	0.07
1880	0.11
1890	0.17
1900	0.22
1910	0.27
1920	0.29
1930	0.29
1940	0.27
1950	0.24
1960	0.2
1970	0.15
1980	0.13
1990	0.11
2000	0.098
2010	0.094

See frequency

How is the adjective non-sectarian pronounced?

British English

/ˌnɒnsɛkˈtɛːrɪən/

non-seck-TAIR-ee-uhn

U.S. English

/ˌnɑnsɛkˈtɛriən/

nahn-seck-TAIR-ee-uhn

See pronunciation

Where does the adjective non-sectarian come from?

Earliest known use

1830s

The earliest known use of the adjective non-sectarian is in the 1830s.

OED's earliest evidence for non-sectarian is from 1831, in the writing of John Stuart Mill, philosopher, economist, and advocate of women's rights.

non-sectarian is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: non- prefix, sectarian adj.

See etymology

Nearby entries

non-scene, adj.1974–
non-sched, n. & adj.1946–
non-scheduled, adj.1855–
non-science, n. & adj.1855–
non-scientific, adj.1824–
non-scientist, n.1872–
non-scriber, n.1650–51
nonscript, adj.1657
non-seat, n.1883–
non-secretor, n.1941–
non-sectarian, adj.1831–
non-security, n.a1420–
non-segmental, adj.1879–
non-segmented, adj.1865–
non se ipse, adj.?1737–1846
non-self, n. & adj.1865–
non-sensational, adj.1870–
nonsense, n. & adj.1612–
nonsense, v.1681–
nonsense book, n.1874–
nonsensely, adv.1656

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Meaning & use

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Pronunciation

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Frequency

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Entry history for non-sectarian, adj.

Originally published as part of the entry for non-, prefix

non-sectarian, adj. was revised in December 2003.

non-sectarian, adj. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into non-sectarian, adj. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1907)

Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

Find out more
View non-, prefix in OED Second Edition

Cite

Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

Copied to clipboard

MLA9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

Copied to clipboard

Select format to download citation

Contribute

Please submit your feedback for non-sectarian, adj.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your
feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Section (required)

Feedback (required)

Citation details

Factsheet for non-sectarian, adj.

Browse entry

Nearby entries

non-scene, adj.1974–
non-sched, n. & adj.1946–
non-scheduled, adj.1855–
non-science, n. & adj.1855–
non-scientific, adj.1824–
non-scientist, n.1872–
non-scriber, n.1650–51
nonscript, adj.1657
non-seat, n.1883–
non-secretor, n.1941–
non-sectarian, adj.1831–
non-security, n.a1420–
non-segmental, adj.1879–
non-segmented, adj.1865–
non se ipse, adj.?1737–1846
non-self, n. & adj.1865–
non-sensational, adj.1870–
nonsense, n. & adj.1612–
nonsense, v.1681–
nonsense book, n.1874–
nonsensely, adv.1656

Browse more nearby entries