vicegerent
Americannoun
-
an officer appointed as deputy by and to a sovereign or supreme chief.
-
a deputy in general.
adjective
-
exercising delegated powers.
-
characterized by delegation of powers.
noun
-
a person appointed to exercise all or some of the authority of another, esp the administrative powers of a ruler; deputy
-
RC Church the Pope or any other representative of God or Christ on earth, such as a bishop
adjective
Other Word Forms
- vicegeral adjective
- vicegerency noun
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
But the patesi was essentially the vicegerent of the god.
From The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia by Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
Merciful Prophet! stretch forth thy propitious arms towards thy vicegerent; who is ready to fall, irretrievably, into the snare which his enemies, the dives, have prepared to destroy him.
From Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story; Vathek, an Arabian Tale by Beckford, William
The services rendered by the Templars are thus gratefully recorded in the following letter sent by Louis, the French king, to his minister and vicegerent, the famous Suger, abbot of St. Denis.
From The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple by Addison, Charles G.
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.
