Faith & RitualGreek → English
Bishop
/ˈbɪʃəp/noun
A senior Christian cleric with authority over a diocese.
The Greek roots
ἐπί
epí
over, upon
σκοπός
skopós
watcher, lookout
Literally: “overseer”
The story of the word
ἐπίσκοπος was a plain administrative title before the church took it over, used of inspectors and men set above public works. Spoken Latin dropped the first vowel of episcopus and Old English received biscop, while the untouched Latin form gave English episcopal, so the same Greek word sits at both ends of the church's vocabulary. The chess piece acquired the name in the 16th century; the French call the identical piece the fool.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old English → English
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
episcopaltelescopemicroscopescope
In a sentence
The bishop arrived late and blessed the new roof anyway.
Trading a bishop for a knight early on suited her game.