bishop

bishop · noun, verb¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἐπίσκοπος“overseer”
2. Vulgar Latin · derived from(e)biscopus
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*biskop
4. Old English · derived frombisċop“bishop”
5. Middle English · inherited frombischop
6. English todaybishop

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”). * The Tyndale Bible uses native English overseer instead.

bishop · verb²

Eponymous, from the surname Bishop.

Bishop · proper noun, noun³

From bishop.

Words from the same roots