vicegerent

[ vahys-jeer-uhnt ]
See synonyms for vicegerent on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an officer appointed as deputy by and to a sovereign or supreme chief.

  2. a deputy in general.

adjective
  1. exercising delegated powers.

  2. characterized by delegation of powers.

Origin of vicegerent

1
1530–40; <New Latin vicegerent- (stem of vicegerēns managing instead of), equivalent to Latin vice (see vice3) + gerent- (stem of gerēns, present participle of gerere to carry on, conduct); see -ent

Words Nearby vicegerent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vicegerent in a sentence

  • He could depose prelates and excommunicate the greatest personages; he enjoyed enormous revenues; he was vicegerent of the Pope.

  • Parental authority should be regarded as vicegerent authority, set up by God and ruling in His stead.

  • Startling doctrine this to the slobbering vicegerent of God, conceding to the people acts to be revoked at his pleasure.

    Hugh Miller | William Keith Leask
  • They have ceased to believe in God; but they still believe in His self-appointed vicegerent, the Kaiser.

  • In these wilds Aimery was his vicegerent and bore himself proudly as the proxy of such a monarch.

    The Path of the King | John Buchan

British Dictionary definitions for vicegerent

vicegerent

/ (ˌvaɪsˈdʒɛrənt) /


noun
  1. a person appointed to exercise all or some of the authority of another, esp the administrative powers of a ruler; deputy

  2. RC Church the Pope or any other representative of God or Christ on earth, such as a bishop

adjective
  1. invested with or characterized by delegated authority

Origin of vicegerent

1
C16: from New Latin vicegerēns, from vice ³ + Latin gerere to manage

Derived forms of vicegerent

  • vicegeral, adjective
  • vicegerency, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012