archbishop
nounUK, US /ˌɑː(ɹ)t͡ʃˈbɪʃəp/
Etymology From Middle English erchebischop, archebischop, from Old English arċebisċop (“archbishop”), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin archiepiscopus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχιεπίσκοπος (arkhiepískopos), from ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “first, chief”) + ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπισκοπέω (episkopéō, “to watch over”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to examine”), equivalent to arch- + bishop.
1
A senior bishop who is in charge of an archdiocese, and presides over a group of dioceses called a province (in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, etc.)
- Thereupon I declared that I was a heretic and a barbarian—“Je suis hérétique et barbare,” I said, “and that these archbishops and cardinals and monsignors, and the rest of them, meant nothing at all to me.1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler:
- He passed over several archbishops who would traditionally become cardinals to promote Gregory. He also moved Augustine Tolton, who died in 1897 after becoming the first African American priest, one step closer to sainthood.2020 November 27, Daniel Burke and Delia Gallagher, “This archbishop has become the first African American cardinal in Catholic history”, in CNN:
1 more example
- One of those 19 candidates was Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008.2025 April 21, Sam Clancy, Andrew Weil, “Former St. Louis archbishop Burke among 'popeable' candidates after Francis' death”, in KSDK:
2
Board games, Chess, Games A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the bishop and the knight.
- Derived terms
- archbishophood
- Related terms
- archbishopdom, archbishopric, archbishopship, archepiscopal, bishop, bishopric, episcopal, archdiocese, diocese, Excellency, Grace, prelate, primate