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Webster 1913 Edition


Prelate

Prel′ate

(?; 48)
,
Noun.
[F.
prélat
, LL.
praelatus
, fr. L.
praelatus
, used as p. p. of
praeferre
to prefer, but from a different root. See
Elate
.]
A clergyman of a superior order, as an archbishop or a bishop, having authority over the lower clergy; a dignitary of the church.
☞ This word and the words derived from it are often used invidiously, in English ecclesiastical history, by dissenters, respecting the Established Church system.
Hear him but reason in divinity, . . .
You would desire the king were made a
prelate
.
Shakespeare

Prel′ate

,
Verb.
I.
To act as a prelate.
[Obs.]
Right
prelating
is busy laboring, and not lording.
Latimer.

Webster 1828 Edition


Prelate

PRE'LATE

,
Noun.
[L. proelatus, proefero.] An ecclesiastic of the higher order, as an archbishop, bishop or patriarch; a dignitary of the church.

Definition 2024


Prelate

Prelate

See also: prelate

English

Proper noun

Prelate

  1. A village in Saskatchewan, Canada.

prelate

prelate

See also: Prelate

English

Noun

prelate (plural prelates)

  1. A clergyman of high rank and authority, having jurisdiction over an area or a group of people; normally a bishop.
    • Shakespeare
      Hear him but reason in divinity, [] / You would desire the king were made a prelate.
    • 1845, William Palmer, Origines Liturgicae, or, Antiquities of the English Ritual: And a Dissertation on Primitive Liturgies, volume 2, 4th edition, London: Francis & John Rivington, OCLC 25757264, page 310:
      Inthronization, in ancient times, immediately succeeded the rite of consecration; the new bishop being honourably placed in his episcopal chair by the prelates assembled for his consecration.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

prelate (third-person singular simple present prelates, present participle prelating, simple past and past participle prelated)

  1. (obsolete) To act as a prelate.
    • Latimer
      Right prelating is busy labouring, and not lording.

Anagrams