bishop

¹

[bish-uhp]

noun

1. a person who supervises a number of local churches or a diocese, being in the Greek, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other churches a member of the highest order of the ministry.

2. a spiritual supervisor, overseer, or the like.

3. Chess.,  one of two pieces of the same color that may be moved any unobstructed distance diagonally, one on white squares and the other on black.

4. a hot drink made of port wine, oranges, cloves, etc.

5. Also called bishop bird. any of several colorful African weaverbirds of the genus Euplectes, often kept as pets.

verb (used with object)

bishoped, bishoping 

1. to appoint to the office of bishop.

Bishop

²

[bish-uhp]

noun

1. Elizabeth, 1911–79, U.S. poet.

2. Hazel Gladys, 1906–1998, U.S. chemist and businesswoman.

3. John Peale, 1892–1944, U.S. poet and essayist.

4. Morris (Gilbert), 1893–1973, U.S. humorist, poet, and biographer.

5. William Avery Billy, 1894–1956, Canadian aviator: helped to establish Canadian air force.

bishop

¹

/ ˈbɪʃəp /

noun

1. (in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Greek Orthodox Churches) a clergyman having spiritual and administrative powers over a diocese or province of the Church See also suffragan

2. (in some Protestant Churches) a spiritual overseer of a local church or a number of churches

3. a chesspiece, capable of moving diagonally over any number of unoccupied squares of the same colour

4. mulled wine, usually port, spiced with oranges, cloves, etc

Bishop

²

/ ˈbɪʃəp /

noun

1. Elizabeth . 1911–79, US poet, who lived in Brazil. Her poetry reflects her travelling experience, esp in the tropics

Bishop

1. American molecular biologist who, working with Harold Varmus, discovered oncogenes. For this work, Bishop and Varmus shared the 1989 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

bishop

1. In some Christian churches, a person appointed to oversee a group of priests or ministers and their congregations. In the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church, bishops are considered the successors of the Twelve Apostles.

Other Word Forms

• bishopless adjective
• bishoplike adjective
• underbishop noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bishop¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English bisc ( e ) op < Vulgar Latin *ebiscopus, for Late Latin episcopus < Greek epískopos overseer, equivalent to epi- epi- + skopós watcher; scope

Word History and Origins

Origin of bishop¹

Old English biscop , from Late Latin epīscopus , from Greek episkopos , from _epi- + skopos watcher

Example Sentences

Yet away from the mainstream, Ceirion Dewar, who is a bishop in the small, more conservative, traditionalist Confessing Anglican Church, insists he will not be "lectured to" by these clergy.

Read more on BBC

“Some parents whose children we had thought had escaped came asking for their children,” the bishop said in a written release.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Farage, now leader of Reform UK, said he was "stunned" that Gill, a former Mormon bishop would have done this.

Read more on BBC

Catholics have gone MAGA, support for the special message was overwhelming: 216 bishops voted in favor, 5 against, and there were 3 abstentions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Catholic bishops were sending the wrong message when they issued a rare statement supporting immigrants and opposing the ”indiscriminate mass deportations of people.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• administrator 
• cleric 
• director 
• patriarch 
• pontiff 
• pope 
• prelate 
• priest