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laicità

secularism

noun lah-ee-chee-TAH Rare
People & Society Politics

Origin: From French 'laïcité', from Greek 'laikos' (of the people, not of the clergy).

Also means

secularity

Usage Note

Laicità (accented final syllable) denotes the principle of keeping the state and public institutions separate from religious authority. Like città and caffè, it has an invariable plural — the accent fixes the form: le laicità is technically possible but the word is normally used as an uncountable abstract. A learner should note the final-stress accent is obligatory.

Examples

"La laicità dello Stato è un principio costituzionale."

Natural Translation

The secularism of the State is a constitutional principle.

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