Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
noun
- improvement, instruction, or enlightenment, esp when morally or spiritually uplifting
- the act of edifying or state of being edified
mid-14c., in religious use, “building up of the soul,” from Old French edification and directly from Latin aedificationem (nominative aedificatio) “construction, building,” in Late Latin “spiritual improvement,” from past participle stem of aedificare (see edifice). Religious use is as translation of Greek oikodome in I Cor. xiv. Meaning “mental improvement” is 1650s. Literal sense of “building” is rare in English.