episcopate
/ɪˈpɪskəpət/ noun, verb
Forms episcopates episcopating episcopated
- noun Bishops seen as a group. “The American Roman Catholic episcopate meets regularly.”
- noun The tenure in office of a bishop. “Bishop Smith's episcopate ran for more than 30 years.”
- noun (rare) A bishop's jurisdiction, the extent of his diocese.
- verb (intransitive) To act as a bishop.
Synonyms
bishopdom bishopry episcopacy bishopric bishopship bishophood diocese
Etymology
From Late Latin episcopatus, from Latin episcopus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “watching over”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A bishopric; the office and dignity of a bishop.
- noun The collective body of bishops.
- verb To act as a bishop; to fill the office of a prelate. [Obs.]
Etymology [L. episcopatus, fr. episcopus: cf. F. épiscopat. See Bishop.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “episcopate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details