I. ˈbishəp noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bisshop, from Old English bisceop, biscop; akin to Old Saxon biskop bishop, Old High German biscof, Middle Dutch bisskop; all from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from (assumed) Vulgar Latin biscopus, ebiscopus, from Late Latin episcopus bishop, overseer, from Greek episkopos, from epi on, over + skopos watcher; akin to Greek skeptesthai to view — more at epi- , spy
1. : a chief priest of a non-Christian religion
2. : a clergyman of the highest order in Christian churches usually charged with an administrative function such as the supervision of a diocese and in certain communions held to be ordained in direct succession from the apostles
3. : overseer ; especially : a spiritual guide and overseer
4. : one of two pieces in a set of chessmen that move diagonally across any number of unoccupied squares
5. : a mulled beverage with a base of port wine flavored with roasted orange and cloves
6. : a bustle worn in 18th and 19th century America
7. or bishop bird : any of various African weaverbirds the males of which are scarlet and black or orange and black
8. : a Mormon high priest ordained and set apart as the administrative and executive officer of a ward and head of the Aaronic priesthood
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English bisshopen, from Old English bisceopian, from bisceop, n.
1. archaic
a. : to administer the sacrament of confirmation to : confirm
b. : to approve formally : sanction
2. : to appoint as bishop : to make a bishop of
3. dialect England : to burn or scorch while cooking
the milk is bishoped
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: from the name Bishop
: to make (a horse) seem younger by operating on the teeth