Spiritual or ecclesiastical in nature, relating to the church or religious matters; a German word used in English musicological contexts.
From German 'geistlich', formed from 'Geist' (spirit) + '-lich' (suffix meaning 'like' or 'having the quality of'), used to describe religious music and texts.
In music history, 'geistlich' describes sacred German compositions like Bach's cantatas—the opposite of 'weltlich' (worldly)—and this single word distinction revolutionized how musicologists categorized Renaissance and Baroque works.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.