cathedra

C3A1T1H4E1D2R1A1
/kəˈθiːdɹə/

noun

The chair or throne of a bishop.

Similar
bishop's throne
OriginLatin cathedra ← Ancient Greek καθέδρα →
UncommonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncathedra (plural cathedras or cathedrae)

plural cathedras · plural cathedrae

  1. The chair or throne of a bishop.
  2. The rank of bishop.
  3. The official chair of some position or office, as of a professor.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna throne that is the official chair of a bishop

Similar
bishop's throne
Broader
throne
Also see
throne

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκαθέδρα“chair of a teacher, throne”
  2. Latincathedra“seat”
  3. Englishcathedra

Borrowed from Latin cathedra (“seat”), from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “chair of a teacher, throne”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + ἕδρα (hédra, “seat”). Doublet of chair and chaise.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cathedra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cathedra

MLA

“cathedra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cathedra. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cathedra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cathedra.

Source: cathedra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.