Etymologically
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episcopal

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Pronunciation

  • /əˈpɪs.kə.pl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin episcopālis,[2][3][4][5][6][7] perhaps through Middle French épiscopal, from which the OED and Barnhart derive it;[8][9] Hoad, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English allow either source.[10][11][12] The Latin adjective is formed from episcopus (“bishop”) with the suffix -ālis.[3][11] Episcopus is from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “watcher, overseer”),[12][4] from ἐπί (epí, “over”) and σκοπός (skopós, “one who watches”), from Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to observe”);[4] through Old English it is also the source of bishop.[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to bishops: about 1460, in the Oseney Register ("customs Episcopals and Archidiaconals");[5][9] the OED's first record is from the Rolls of Parliament of 1485–6.[8]

Semantic evolution

From 1651, in Baxter, it meant relating to episcopacy, government of the church by bishops, and it was formerly also said of people who supported that system.[8] From 1752, in Hume's Essays, it described a church organized on that principle,[8][9][4] and with a capital E it became the usual name of the Anglican church in Scotland and the United States.[8][4][9] Johnson (1755) gave the senses "belonging to a bishop" and "vested in a bishop".[13] As a noun, an adherent of episcopacy or a member of an Episcopal church, it is recorded from 1709, in Swift, to 1823,[8] and Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1752.[3] The derivative episcopalian is a noun from 1738 and an adjective from 1768.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1460 – of or relating to bishops.[5][9]
  • 1485–86 – the OED's first record.[8]
  • 1651 – relating to episcopacy.[8]
  • 1709 – noun, an adherent of episcopacy.[8]
  • 1738 – the noun Episcopalian.[9]
  • 1752 – of a church governed by bishops.[8][9][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to, or suited to a bishop or bishops: the episcopal palace.[3][7][8]
  2. Governed by bishops; relating to or supporting episcopacy.[3][7][8]
  3. Episcopal: of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican church in the United States and Scotland.[7][8][4]

Noun

  1. A member of an Episcopal church; an episcopalian;[3][8] Merriam-Webster notes that it is seldom used formally, and the OED records it from 1709 to 1823.[3][8]

Word family

  • episcopally
  • nonepiscopal

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.