archbishop
Americannoun
-
archbishops
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of archbishop
before 900; Middle English; Old English arcebisceop ( arce- arch- 1 + bisceop bishop ), modeled on Late Latin archiepiscopus < Greek archiepískopos; replacing Old English hēahbisceop ( see high)
Vocabulary lists containing archbishop
Medieval Europe - Middle School
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Medieval Europe - High School
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Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
Though his first love was always parish work, we were there for his elevations to auxiliary bishop of San Francisco, bishop of San Diego and, most recently, archbishop of Washington.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
If this sounds more Hollywood than parish church to you, well, it appears that Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, agrees.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026
Still, the archbishop is hopeful that the sparring will blow over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Other challenges the new archbishop will face are more familiar for leaders of the Church of England.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
In 1650 James Ussher, archbishop of Armagh, calculated from Old Testament genealogical data that God created the universe on Sunday, October 23, 4004 b.c.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Soon after, she was one of just a handful of people from Synod appointed to the Crown Nominations Commission, a panel that selects new bishops and archbishops.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
By 08:30, archbishops and bishops will gather in the Constantine Wing, adjacent to the basilica, wearing liturgical clothes including simple white miter.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
But, the archbishops - who have held talks with Mr Gove about the plans - believe the government risks disproportionately targeting Muslim communities.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024
Francis made the unscripted comments at the end of Mass, calling up the former and current archbishops of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon and Archbishop Stephen Chow, to flank him as he spoke.
From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2023
Composers spent half their lives walking across Germany to work for different archbishops and archdukes.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.