archbishop
Americannoun
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
But Rossetti’s comments ran afoul of his boss, the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., who announced Wednesday he had “removed” Rossetti from his position as an exorcist.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026
And apart from a rabbi and a retired Catholic archbishop, almost all the 20 listed "faith leaders" who will speak are evangelical Protestants.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
Still, the archbishop is hopeful that the sparring will blow over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
It was too whimsical a sighting for the archbishop to pronounce as authentic, but still.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will take part.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
He and 25 other Church of England bishops and archbishops have seats in the House of Lords and can vote on legislation.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024
The Church of England has offered to work with the government to help communities discuss the plans - something the archbishops said would be fulfilling a historic role.
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
I thought only archbishops and popes were posh enough for butlers, but vicars can obviously have them too.
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.