archbishop

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A senior bishop who is in charge of an archdiocese, and presides over a group of dioceses called a province (in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, etc.)
  2. A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the bishop and the knight.

Pronunciation

/ˌɑː(ɹ)t͡ʃˈbɪʃəp/ /ˈɑː(ɹ)t͡ʃˌbɪʃəp/ en-us-archbishop.ogg

Word forms

archbishop archbishops abp.

Etymology

From Middle English erchebischop, archebischop, from Old English arċebisċop (“archbishop”), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin archiepiscopus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχιεπίσκοπος (arkhiepískopos), from ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “first, chief”) + ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπισκοπέω (episkopéō, “to watch over”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to examine”), equivalent to arch- + bishop.

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