What does bishop mean?
A bishop is a senior ordained member of the Christian clergy, entrusted with oversight of a diocese — a geographic district of parishes — and traditionally holding the authority to ordain priests and confirm members of the church. The office dates back to the earliest centuries of Christianity, and bishops remain central figures in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and many Protestant traditions, recognizable by vestments such as the mitre and crozier. Beyond religion, the word names a familiar chess piece: each side begins with two bishops, which travel along diagonals and are bound permanently to squares of one color. The word also survives, though archaically, as the name of a hot spiced punch popular in earlier centuries. Figuratively, calling someone a bishop connotes authority, dignity, and pastoral responsibility within a religious hierarchy.
A senior member of the Christian clergy having spiritual and administrative authority over a diocese, with the power to ordain priests.
"The bishop presided over the ordination of six new priests."
Often capitalized in formal titles such as Bishop of London.
In chess, a piece that may move any number of vacant squares diagonally; each player begins the game with two.
"Her dark-squared bishop controlled the entire long diagonal."
(Historical, chiefly British) A hot sweetened drink made from mulled wine or port, flavored with spices and roasted oranges.
"On winter nights they warmed themselves with bowls of smoking bishop."
Archaic; found mainly in older literature.
Regular plural; used for all senses of the noun.
"Several bishops attended the ecumenical council."
A chess bishop spends its entire life on squares of a single color — it can cross the whole board yet never once touch the other shade.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bishop
The word bishop descends from the ancient Greek 'episkopos', meaning 'overseer' or 'watcher', formed from 'epi-' ('over') and 'skopein' ('to look'). It passed into Latin as 'episcopus' and was borrowed into Old English as 'bisceop' around the period of Christianization, making it one of the older loanwords in English. The same Greek root gives us the related English words episcopal, episcopacy, and Episcopalian.
Related word forms
How bishop is actually used
Capitalized when used as part of an official title (e.g., Bishop of Canterbury). The drink sense is dated and chiefly historical British usage.