kiliselerin

Kiliselerin is a Turkish term that functions as the genitive plural form of kilise, meaning “of the churches” or “the churches’.” The base plural kiliseler means “churches.” When the genitive suffix -in is added to the plural, kiliselerin is formed, signaling possession or a relationship involving multiple churches. Turkish combines possession and plurality in a single word, so kiliselerin typically appears in noun phrases such as kiliselerin çanları or kiliselerin bakımı.

The formation follows a standard pattern: kilise (church) + ler (plural) → kiliseler (churches), then add -in to indicate genitive: kiliselerin (of the churches). The suffix -in adapts to vowel harmony, appearing as -in, -ın, -un, or -ün depending on the preceding vowels.

Usage notes: Kiliselerin is used to express ownership, attribution, or association with more than one church. Examples include Kiliselerin çanları erken çalar. (The churches’ bells ring early.) and Kiliselerin bakımı belediyenin sorumluluğundadır. (The maintenance of the churches is the municipality’s responsibility.) It can begin a noun phrase or function within a larger sentence without requiring a separate preposition.

Etymology: Kilise, meaning church, is a loanword in Turkish, derived from Greek ekklēsía and transmitted through historical contact with Byzantine and Ottoman Turkish varieties. Kiliselerin, as the possessive plural form, reflects Turkish agglutinative morphology rather than a separate lexical entity.

See also: kilise, kiliseler, -in possessive suffix, Turkish genitive construction.