— archpriesthood , n. — archpriestship , n.
/ahrch"preest"/ , n.
1. a priest holding first rank, as among the members of a cathedral chapter or among the clergy of a district outside the episcopal city.
2. Rom. Cath. Ch. a priest acting as superior of the Roman Catholic secular clergy in England, first appointed in 1598 and superseded by a vicar apostolic in 1623.
[ 1350-1400; ME archeprest (modeled on LL archipresbyter archipresbýteros ). See ARCH- 1 , PRIEST ]