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episcopal

American  
[ih-pis-kuh-puhl] / ɪˈpɪs kə pəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to a bishop.

    episcopal authority.

  2. based on or recognizing a governing order of bishops.

    an episcopal hierarchy.

  3. (initial capital letter) designating the Anglican Church or some branch of it, as the Episcopal Church in America.

noun

  1. (initial capital letter) an Episcopalian.

Episcopal 1 British  
/ ɪˈpɪskəpəl /

adjective

  1. belonging to or denoting the Episcopal 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
episcopal 2 British  
/ ɪˈpɪskəpəl /

adjective

  1. of, denoting, governed by, or relating to a bishop or bishops

"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

Other Word Forms

  • Episcopally adverb
  • episcopally adverb
  • nonepiscopal adjective
  • nonepiscopally adverb
  • pseudoepiscopal adjective
  • quasi-episcopal adjective
  • quasi-episcopally adverb

Etymology

Origin of episcopal

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Late Latin word episcopālis. See bishop, -al 1

Vocabulary lists containing episcopal

World Religions

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The diplomatic source said negotiations between the government and the country's Catholic bishops are ongoing over Alvarez's future, and that the formerly jailed prelate was currently at the Catholic episcopal compound in the capital.

From Reuters • Jul. 5, 2023

O’Connell became an auxiliary bishop and episcopal vicar for the archdiocese’s San Gabriel region in 2015.

From Washington Post • Feb. 19, 2023

It was also the first publication to report on the clergy sex abuse crisis and the episcopal cover-up beginning in the 1980s, many years before the Boston Globe published its own investigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2023

Since Aug. 3, authorities have confined Álvarez to the episcopal complex where he lives.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2022

Later on Mr. Jack Brown arrived in an extra coach that had been coupled onto the yellow train and that was silverplated all over, with seats of episcopal velvet, and a roof of blue glass.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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.