From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhomilyhom‧i‧ly /ˈhɒməli $ ˈhɑː-/ noun (plural homilies) [countable] 1 formalADVISE advice about how to behave that is often unwanted2 literaryRRC a speech given as part of a Christian church ceremony
Examples from the Corpus
homily• And he ended with a homily, trite or profound according to taste.• They were not to be chastened by homilies like children at a Sunday school.• He authored ninety homilies on Matthew, eighty-eight on John, and thirty-two on Romans.• But in their prepared homilies the Pope and the Archbishop addressed quite different problems.• So director Chris Columbus unabashedly presents the same jokes, the same situations, the same tearful homilies and the same resolution.• For much of the week, Jim had been working on the homily he would deliver that night.• This would be his last Easter at Holy Trinity, and he wanted the homily to be among his best.• LaRussa spouted his usual homily about winning games.Origin homily (1300-1400) Old French omilie, from Greek homilia “conversation” 