Etymology

in partibus infidelium

Today it means: Of a bishop or see: merely titular, without regular jurisdiction, and serving to assist some other bishop or to act as delegates of the pope where no hierarchy had yet been established. Full definition →

Ecclesiastical Latin in partibus īnfidēlium
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The story

  1. Ecclesiastical Latin · borrowed fromin partibus īnfidēlium
  2. English todayin partibus infidelium

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin in partibus īnfidēlium (literally “in the regions of the infidels”), so named because such bishops were assigned sees corresponding to territories that had passed under the control of other religions, and so did not imply a duty of residence or diocesan responsibilities.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.