bishop

B1 Topic:Religion & Belief

US /ˈbɪʃəp/ See IPA manual

Freq #3300

Meanings

1

noun
A senior Christian priest who is in charge of the churches in a large area.

The bishop visited several churches in the region.
2

noun
A chess piece that moves diagonally across the board.

She moved her bishop to put the king in check.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

consecratorhierarch ordinary

Word family

Forms bishops

Derived forms abbot-bishopantibishoparchbishopassistant-bishopbishop's-capbishop's-weedbishop's-wortbishop-birdbishop-coadjutorbishop-commissionerbishop-designatebishop-designed

Related forms albamicebirettabishopessbishopricbugiabuskinscassalbcassock cathedracatholiconchasuble

Etymology

From Middle English bischop, bishop, bisshop, biscop, from Old English bisċop (“bishop”), from Proto-West Germanic *biskop, from Vulgar Latin (e)biscopus, from classical Latin episcopus (“overseer, supervisor”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”), used in Greek and Latin both generally and as a title of civil officers. Cognate with all European terms for the position in various Christian churches; compare also Middle English bisp (“bishop”).

bischop Middle English bisċop Old English *biskop Proto-West Germanic biscopus la-vul ἐπίσκοπος Ancient Greek

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External links

# bishop

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɪʃəp/
**Frequency rank:** 3300

## Meanings
1. A senior Christian priest who is in charge of the churches in a large area.
2. A chess piece that moves diagonally across the board.

## Examples
- The bishop visited several churches in the region.
- She moved her bishop to put the king in check.

## Synonyms
- consecrator
- hierarch
- ordinary

## Derived Forms
- abbot-bishop
- antibishop
- archbishop
- assistant-bishop
- bishop's-cap
- bishop's-weed
- bishop's-wort
- bishop-bird
- bishop-coadjutor
- bishop-commissioner
- bishop-designate
- bishop-designed

## Related Forms
- alb
- amice
- biretta
- bishopess
- bishopric
- bugia
- buskins
- cassalb
- cassock
- cathedra
- catholicon
- chasuble

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bischop
- Root: bisċop
- Root: *biskop
- Root: biscopus
- Root: ἐπίσκοπος

## Etymology
From Middle English bischop, bishop, bisshop, biscop, from Old English bisċop (“bishop”), from Proto-West Germanic *biskop, from Vulgar Latin (e)biscopus, from classical Latin episcopus (“overseer, supervisor”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”), used in Greek and Latin both generally and as a title of civil officers. Cognate with all European terms for the position in various Christian churches; compare also Middle English bisp (“bishop”).

## AI Etymology
Bishop comes from Middle English bischop, bishop, bisshop, biscop, from Old English bisċop (“bishop”), from Proto-West Germanic *biskop, from Vulgar Latin (e)biscopus, from classical Latin episcopus (“overseer, supervisor”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”), used in Greek and Latin both generally and as a title of civil officers. Cognate with all European terms for the position in various Christian churches; compare also Middle English bisp (“bishop”).

## Topics
- Religion & Belief

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bishop

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