A.Word.A.Day -- catholicity

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catholicity

(kath-uh-LIS-i-tee)

noun: 1. Wide-ranging; universality.
2. Broad-mindedness; inclusiveness.

From Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikos (general), from kata (according to, by) + holou (whole). Ultimately from Indo-European root sol- (whole) that brought us words such as solid, salute, save, salvo, and soldier.

"[Broadcaster John Ebdon] notched up more than 1,000 broadcasts on topics that reflected the catholicity of his interests -- they included astronomy, religion and poetry."
Obituaries: John Ebdon; The Times (London, UK); Mar 24, 2005.

See more usage examples of catholicity in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all. -Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (1920- )

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