Meanings
plural bishopdoms
- archaiccountableuncountableSynonym of bishopric.
See the frowardneſſe of this Man, he would perſwade us that the Succeſſion and divine Right of Biſhopdom hath bin unqueſtionable through all Ages;
1641, John Milton, Animadversions upon the Remonstrants Defence against Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume I, Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC, page 143Synonyms: bishopric
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of bishopric.
nounSynonym of episcopate.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*biskopadōm
- Old Englishbisċopdōm
- Middle Englishbischopdom
- Englishbishopdom
From Middle English bischopdom, from Old English bisċopdōm, bisċeopdōm, bisċepdōm (“the province of a bishop; a bishopric”), from Proto-West Germanic *biskopadōm, equivalent to bishop + -dom. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bisdum (“bishopdom”), West Frisian bisdom (“bishopdom”), Dutch bisdom (“bishopdom”), German Bistum (“bishopdom”), Danish bispedømme (“bishopdom”), Swedish biskopsdöme (“bishopdom”), Icelandic biskupsdæmur, biskupsdæmi (“bishopdom”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bishopdom. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishopdom
“bishopdom.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishopdom. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bishopdom,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bishopdom.
Source: bishopdom on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.