Episcopalian

[ ih-pis-kuh-peyl-yuhn, -pey-lee-uhn ]

adjective
  1. pertaining or adhering to the Episcopal Church in America.

  2. (lowercase) pertaining or adhering to the episcopal form of church government.

noun
  1. a member of the Episcopal Church in America.

  2. (lowercase) an adherent of the episcopal system of church government.

Origin of Episcopalian

1
First recorded in 1680–90; episcopal + -ian

Other words from Episcopalian

  • E·pis·co·pa·lian·ism, noun
  • non·e·pis·co·pa·lian, adjective
  • non-E·pis·co·pa·lian, noun
  • pseu·do-E·pis·co·pa·lian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Episcopalian in a sentence

  • In fact, even now Episcopalianism was considered rather foreign than of a home growth.

    A Little Girl in Old Boston | Amanda Millie Douglas
  • Dislike of Episcopalianism is still strong among people who do not know, or pretend not to know, what the word means.

    Our Southern Highlanders | Horace Kephart
  • It is simply a modification of Episcopalianism, and none but an Episcopalian would be likely to adopt it.

    Recollections and Impressions | Octavius Brooks Frothingham
  • In the west there was a tendency toward Episcopalianism, whereas the east drifted toward Congregationalism.

    The History of the Negro Church | Carter Godwin Woodson
  • They even abandoned the Episcopalianism of their old home, and became Methodists, like their neighbors.

    Thomas Hart Benton | Theodore Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for episcopalian (1 of 2)

episcopalian

/ (ɪˌpɪskəˈpeɪlɪən) /


adjectiveAlso: episcopal
  1. practising or advocating the principle of Church government by bishops

noun
  1. an advocate of such Church government

Derived forms of episcopalian

  • episcopalianism, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Episcopalian (2 of 2)

Episcopalian

/ (ɪˌpɪskəˈpeɪlɪən) /


adjective
  1. belonging to or denoting the Episcopal Church

noun
  1. a member or adherent of this Church

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