bishop

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɪʃ.əp/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bisshop, inherited from Old English biscop, bisceop,^[2][3][4] an early borrowing, like Old Saxon biscop and Old High German biscof,^[3][5] borrowed from Latin episcopus (“bishop, overseer”) through a popular form *biscopus,^[4][2] from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “watcher, overseer”),^[2][3] from ἐπί (epí, “over”) and σκοπός (skopós, “one who watches”),^[2][3][6] from Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to observe”).^[2] It is related to episcopal and scope.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bishop: Old English biscop before 830, in the Vespasian Psalter.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Greek episkopos was a title for various officials before the Church took it over;^[2] in the New Testament it describes elders.^[2][8] Old English bisceop also meant a high priest, Jewish or pagan, and the OED records the sense “chief priest of any religion” from about 893.^[2][8] The chess piece is from 1562.^[8] English bishop and French évêque, from the same Latin word, have no letter in common.^[2] Bishopric is Old English bisceoprice, about 890, from rice “realm”.^[3]

Timeline

• before 830 – a bishop.^[3]
• c. 893 – a chief priest of any religion.^[8]
• 1562 – the chess piece.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A senior member of the Christian clergy, usually in charge of a diocese.
2. A chess piece, shaped like a bishop's mitre, that moves diagonally.

Word family

• bishopless
• bishoplike
• archbishop
• bishopric
• Bishops' Bible

Related words

• episcopal
• Episcopalian
• episcopate
• scope

Usage notes

The verb bishop, to file a horse's teeth to make it look younger, is from the early 18th century and comes from the surname Bishop.^[9][5] In northern English and Scottish dialect the bishop has put his foot in it was said of burnt milk or porridge.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)