bishop

Meanings

1. 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. 2
   noun

   A chess piece that moves diagonally across the board.

   She moved her bishop to put the king in check.

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”).

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