Prelate
//ˈpɹɛlət// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A clergyman of high rank and authority, having jurisdiction over an area or a group of people; normally a bishop.
"Hear him but reason in divinity, […] / You would desire the king were made a prelate."
- 2 a senior clergyman and dignitary wordnet
Verb
- 1 (obsolete) To act as a prelate. intransitive
"18 January 1549, Hugh Latimer, Sermon of the Plough Right prelating is busy labouring, and not lording."
Proper Noun
- 1 A village in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Example
More examples"What's the difference between a prelate and a bishop?"
Etymology
From Old French prelat (French prélat), from Medieval Latin praelātus, perfect passive participle of praeferō (“to carry before, prefer, exceed”), see -ate (noun-forming suffix). Doublet of prefer. See also infer, relate and refer, delate and defer, as well as collate and confer among others.
Related phrases
More for "prelate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.