— archdeaconate, archdeaconship , n.
/ahrch"dee"keuhn/ , n.
1. an ecclesiastic, ranking next below a bishop and having charge of the temporal and external administration of a diocese, with jurisdiction delegated from the bishop.
2. Rom. Cath. Ch. a title of honor conferred only on a member of a cathedral chapter.
[ bef. 1000; ME archideken, OE arcediacon archidiaconus archidiákonos. See ARCH- 1 , DEACON ]