vicegerent
Americannoun
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an officer appointed as deputy by and to a sovereign or supreme chief.
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a deputy in general.
adjective
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exercising delegated powers.
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characterized by delegation of powers.
noun
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a person appointed to exercise all or some of the authority of another, esp the administrative powers of a ruler; deputy
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RC Church the Pope or any other representative of God or Christ on earth, such as a bishop
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vicegerent
1530–40; < New Latin vicegerent- (stem of vicegerēns managing instead of ), equivalent to Latin vice ( see vice 3) + gerent- (stem of gerēns, present participle of gerere to carry on, conduct); see -ent
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 vicegerent of the vicariate of Rome splashed the stone with holy water.
From Time Magazine Archive
They were the years when Coolidge said of war debts, "They hired the money," when Charles Dawes was Coolidge's vicegerent in Europe, wearing laurels won with the Dawes Plan.
From Time Magazine Archive
As the direct representatives and plenipotentiaries of the vicegerent of God the legates carried and exercised the supreme authority of the Holy See into the remotest corners of Christendom.
From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume I by Henry Charles Lea
In medieval times the emperor, conceived as vicegerent of God and co-regent with the pope in government of the Christian people committed to his charge, might almost be regarded as an ecclesiastical officer.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various
The king accordingly was not a representative and vicegerent of the god, like a Babylonian prince; he represented the god Assur only because he represented the city of Assur.
From The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia by A. H. (Archibald Henry) Sayce
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.
